A lewd video of a girl believed to be a young actress or her dead ringer made rounds on social media over the weekend. The original clip had since been deleted but many Filipinos were able to spread copies of it.
Some Filipinos opposed the spread of the video deemed defamatory of actress Loisa Andalio, even if it is not confirmed that it was her appearing on it.
The video started circulating on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube last March 22. It’s not certain, however, where it originated.
Andalio, who found popularity as one of the housemates of ABS-CBN’s “Pinoy Big Brother” reality show, has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
Some parts of social media, however, condemn those who are requesting for copies of the recording as hypocrites.
“It’s funny how people are shaming Duterte for joking about rape cases, detesting rapists whenever rape cases arise and saying yes to death penalty and no to cyber bullying but are asking for Loisa’s scandal and slut shaming her,” Twitter user @WyethYoshabel said.
As of press time, no other official details have been disclosed.
Another latest viral video is of Veteran singer-songwriter Jim Paredes, who came clean with the raunchy video clip which made rounds online, retracting his earlier denial that it was him on it.
Paredes apologized on his website for recording the solo act and emphasized that it was supposed to be “private.”
“I know many of you have judged me and condemned me, and those who held me in high esteem are disappointed in me, to put it mildly. I apologize for my irresponsibility,” he said on April 1.
“But most especially, I stand in bottomless sorrow and contrition before my family who are reeling from the hurt and aggravation, and the embarrassment and shame, that should only be mine,” he added.
It’s not certain where the video came from or who posted it, but it made rounds early this week. Some of his fans claimed it was not him in the video, but others noted some likeness.
Paredes, a former member of OPM band APO Hiking Society, admitted he did not know how to address his followers at first.
“The video was real. It was private, and not meant for public consumption. I do not know how it became public,” he said.
He earlier tweeted it was “fake” as part of an exchange for his earlier post: “Fake news is government sponsored.”
He alleged that his critics may have something to do with the privacy intrusion.
“I can only surmise that in this ugly season of toxic politics, muckrakers determined to neutralize my influence by violating my privacy and digging up dirt on me are at work.
Paredes had been vocal with his opinions on social media against some policies of the government under President Rodrigo Duterte and actions of his allies.
Following the incident, he made his Twitter, facebook and Instagram accounts private.
Why people are drawn to scandals
Fans and critics crave to know the goings-on in the lives of celebrities, according to a psychologist.
Dr. Susan Kolod of Psychology Today said people naturally have the tendency to look for scandals from a public figure.
“What makes scandals so interesting? A good scandal can be titillating, outrageous, entertaining, satisfying and edifying—it allows us to feel superior, to pity or despise the transgressor and to get vicarious pleasure, all at the same time,” Kolod said.
She said that scandals allow a person to experience a “better” life from what he or she has.
“Scandals allow us, through fantasy, to vicariously experience an ‘other’ life, while leaving us reassured that we are better off in our ordinary, non-scandalous existence,” she explained.
Furthermore, scandals and controversies distract people from their everyday lives for a while.
“Not only does it take our minds off our problems, it also assures us that our problems are small and manageable in comparison,” she said.
The use of social media also greatly helped in providing people easier access to such information, according to an article from The Guardian.
“It’s because the web works outside the consent of the business. The audience is in charge, armed with a smart phone and a Wi-Fi connection. This makes us potentially more dangerous to the celebrity than ever before,” Aleks Krotoski wrote.
On the part of the celebrity involved, the scandal or negative gossip circulating on social media may either make or break his or her career.
“Beyond the personal privacy issues, we’ve also got more control over their careers: then, the duration of their fame was determined by a story arc fabricated by a studio executive; now, the studios have a second-by-second litmus test of a celebrity’s worth,” Krotoski said. (C.R.S. Madarang)