Actor-comedian Dennis Padilla referred to his being a father to a daughter who is part of the LGBTQ+ community after earning criticisms for how his movie character treated a transgender woman.
The 58-year-old actor addressed the backlash from the trailer of his upcoming movie, “Pakboys: Takusa,” where his character appeared to be offended after realizing he had slept with a transgender woman.
The scene did not earn the approval of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgenders, who perceived it to be insulting.
The first parts of the trailer showed Padilla’s character who appeared to be offended when he saw that the woman he slept with peed on the toilet while standing.
Miss Trans Global 2020 Mela Franco Habijan, who is also an actress, called out the scene and perceived it as a jab at transgender women.
“True enough, the first 10 seconds of your trailer presents a trans woman peeing… while standing. And then Dennis Padilla is seen bothered and feeling victimized by sleeping with her,” the beauty queen said before.
“Nakakapanliit kasi ginagawa niyo na namang katatawanan ang pag-ihi namin! Nakakainsulto kasi ginagawa ninyong katatawanan ang katawan namin. Nakakagalit dahil pinagtatawanan ninyo ang pagiging trans woman namin,” she added.
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Padilla, in response to the criticisms, believed that the LGBTQ+ community will appreciate the “whole scene” since it showed that his character and the transgender woman were able to “make love.”
“Kapag napanood niyo naman ang buong scene, sexy, saka may bed scene kami kaya matutuwa rin ‘yung LGBTQ community, kasi nag-make love kami,” he said in an interview.
The actor added that he has respect for the whole LGBTQ+ community since he has a daughter who is in a same-sex marriage.
“My daughter is married to a woman in the States. My eldest daughter Diane, who is 30 years old, is married to Katx, who is also a woman. And I respect them because mahal ng anak ko, e,” Padilla said.
Reports note that Diane Baldivia is his daughter with his first wife, Monina Gatus, before he got involved with actress Marjorie Barretto.
Padilla said that Diane married Katx in the United States in September 2019.
“So, nang ikasal sila sa Amerika, I was happy for them. Ako pa ba ang babastos sa LGBTQ, e ‘yung daughter ko, (ang) asawa, babae? Legally married sila,” he said.
The actor’s comments earned some praises from the local online community who hoped that other Filipino parents would also adopt the same mindset when it comes to dealing with their children’s sexual orientation.
“Technically, wala namang magiging problema sa same-sex kung lahat ng parents kagaya ni Dennis Padilla, understanding at malawak ang pag-iisip,” a Twitter user said.
“Sana all Dennis Padilla,” a Facebook user commented in response to the actor’s remarks with a series of heart emojis.
“Salute to loving and accepting fathers!” another online user said.
Habijan, meanwhile, shared a more critical comment after finding out about the actor’s response.
“I celebrate with you for having an LGBTQIA+ child, however, you never use this to justify the transphobia and misogyny of your film,” she tweeted on Thursday.
“It reiterates the idea that trans women are deceiving men. Base sa reaksyon ng iyong character, nagulat at nanlumo ito nang nalaman niyang trans woman ang kanyang nakasiping. May pandidiri. May pakiramdam na niloko at naisahan. Ang reaksyong ito ay maglalabas ng ideyang: ‘Kadiri! Pumatol siya sa bakla!'” Habijan added.
Aside from the movie’s depiction of a transgender woman, “Pakboys” has also drawn criticism for its humor based on womanizing and other “macho” stereotypes.
