Carmi Martin | Image: Screengrab from YouTube/Snooky Serna
Veteran actress Carmi Martin shared that during the time she was being packaged as a sexy star in the 80s, some producers attempted to sexually exploit or “take advantage of her,” but she fought back.
In an interview with Snooky Serna, which was uploaded in her vlog, Martin was asked if there was a time that she felt or experienced being sexually exploited, and the latter revealed she received some “indecent proposals” and some people in the industry tried to exploit her.
“‘Yung exploitation, like what’s happening right now na mga, ‘Oh kailangan mong maki-affair kay ganito para magbigyan ka ng favor. Meron akong mga invitation na ganiyan during that time kasi nga ang sexy ko diba. May mga producers din nag-try mag take advantage sakin to the point na tinulak ko talaga at sinabi ko, hindi dahil ganito ako na sexy or pinapackage niyo as a sexy star eh pwede niyo na akong ieexploit. So meron,” she detailed.
(The exploitation like what’s happening right now, ‘Oh, you have to have an affair with this person so you can have favors. I had invitations like that during that time because I’m sexy, right? Some producers also tried to take advantage of me to the point that I really pushed and I said no, not because I am sexy or being packaged as a sexy star, you can exploit me. So there is that.)
The actress-comedian did not identify the producers involved.
Martin, who rose to fame as an endorser of an alcoholic drink popularized by a commercial ad that had her riding a white horse on the beach, acknowledged that many women in showbiz during the 80s have experienced being sexually exploited.
“Sinabi ko nga nu’ng 80s mas madaming babae ang naeexploit, na mabibigyan ka ng popularity if for example, papayag ka na magkaroon ng sexual relationship with a producer,” she said.
(Like what I said before, during the 80s more women were being exploited to be given popularity; for example, you will have to agree to have a sexual relationship with a producer.)
Martin also revealed that many production staff had asked her to do full frontal nudity for her projects but she was always saved by her loved ones.
“Maraming times na gusto akong magkaroon ng full frontal nudity tapos mabuti na lang may makulit akong kasamang boyfriend, may hawak na baril. Alam mo ‘yung parating nagkakaroon ng mga ganong instances na buti na lang merong kontrabida,” she stated.
(There are many times when someone would want me to have full frontal nudity, but luckily my boyfriend with me who has a gun was with me. You know there are always those instances where it’s a good thing there’s always a villain.)
“It’s either my family, na sinasabi, ‘Ano ba yan binabastos na kami sa ano, meron daw kaming bomba star, alam mo naman ‘yung mga tao, bold star na kapatid, ganun ganon, so sa sobrang ayoko na pati pamilya ko nasasaktan ginawa ko ngang mas focused sa television,” continued the actress, adding that in television there’s some sort of censorship.
(It’s either my family saying, ‘What is it that we are being insulted for? They say we have a bold star; you know those people, bold star sister, like that, so because I don’t want my family to be hurt, what I did was to focus on television.)
Filipino celebrities are recently coming forward with their stories of sexual harassment and unwanted attention from their superiors in the industry, including Rita Avila, who recently revealed she was sexually harassed by a director who forcefully tried to kiss her when she was just about to enter the entertainment industry.
The attention on sexual abuse in the industry stemmed from the revelation of Sandro Muhlach that he was raped by two TV consultants last July. This was followed by the Gerald Santos, who bared in a Senate hearing that he too was raped when he was 15 years old by a musical director in a singing contest that he joined on TV.