Jobert Sucaldito, an entertainment writer who had his share of controversies in the past, earned the ire of Nadine Lustre’s fans over his disturbing remarks against the actress on his radio show, a clip of which made rounds online.
Sucaldito was defending his colleague Ricky Lo, who previously drew flak over his erroneous story on the breakup rumors of Lustre and boyfriend James Reid.
Lo, a longtime entertainment columnist, previously published a Philippine STAR write-up that mentioned the actress’ mental health situation and associated it with how she might have coped with the alleged breakup. This had since been edited in the story’s online version.
In an episode of the radio program called Showbuzz with fellow radio anchor Ahwel Paz, Sucaldito ranted against Lustre and Reid and their fandom called “JaDine.” He also blamed Lustre’s recent social media posts as the cause for the rumored split.
Audio clips of the part aired in DZMM where he quipped Lustre to jump off a building made rounds online on January 8.
A fan account of Lustre even took the time to transcribe it and shared it on Twitter.
“Kayo, sila, ang may gawa-gawa ng kwento ng pinagkamali namin dahil pinatulan namin. Di ba kaya medyo lumaki itong usapan. Di ba yon naman ang gusto nila,” Sucaldito said.
“Unang-una, may labas pa ang pwet, may naka-t-back pa doon sa building tapos may mga nakalagay sa caption na parang gusting tumalon. Sana tumalon nalang kung gano’n din naman pala,” he added.
The hashtags #SuicideIsNotAJokeJobert and #ApologizeToNadine, along with Jobert Sucaldito’s name, immediately trended on Twitterverse that day. Both fans and non-fans of the couple criticized him for making such utterances in public.
Despite being called out, Sucaldito’s outburst did not end there. He posted a lengthy rant on Facebook against Lustre’s supposed disrespect to Lo.
“Piece of advice lang Nadine, why don’t you google Ricky Lo’s name kung anong klaseng journalist siya. Hindi naman iyan one of those na pinulot lang sa kalye para magsulat sa isang diyaryo. He is most respected sa hanay namin,” part of his statement read on January 8.
Sucaldito also asserted that all the information that Lo included in the controversial article directly came from Lustre and were well-researched.
ABS-CBN News Chief Ging Reyes later shared a statement that Sucaldito is being investigated for his actions and assured the public of accountability on the side of their team.
“We are investigating reports that DZMM host Jobert Sucaldito uttered inappropriate and insensitive comments regarding actress Nadine Lustre’s state of mental health. Our journalists and other members of our team are accountable for their on-air statements,” Reyes said on Twitter.
— GING REYES (@gingreyes) January 8, 2020
In bad taste
Several Twitter users pointed out what Sucaldito and co-host Paz missed in the controversy.
People were actually irked at Lo’s mention of Lustre’s mental illness in his article, rather than the source of his information on the actress’ rumored breakup with Reid.
“It’s not even about where the “news” came from, the issue is about how Ricky Lo used mental illness as an anchor for his argument and dragging Nadine’s brother,” Pascual said.
Oh god these two showbiz journalists! They totally missed the point! It's not even about where the "news" came from, the issue is about how Ricky Lo used mental illness as an anchor for his argument and dragging nadine's brother, anobayan! 😂 https://t.co/ucYDVSrd51
— 🏳️🌈 BJ Pascual 🏳️🌈 (@bjpascual) January 7, 2020
Aside from Lo and Sucaldito, another user also cited and tagged other entertainment writers who published stories with the same angle as Lo’s via a Twitter thread.
TRIGGER WARNING: SENSITIVE
(1/3) others involved:
Jan 2, JULIE BONIFACIO of @banderainquirer published this article stating Nadine is threatening James that she will commit suicide if he broke up with her and also cited Nadine's brother's passing. #SuicideIsNotAJokeJobert pic.twitter.com/OppBveYDMt
— annyeonghatheyo! 🐺🦁 (@kooridenka) January 7, 2020
Sucaldito apologized
Following the wave of criticisms, Sucaldito eventually issued a public apology to Lustre and to the Filipinos.
It was aired on DZMM as well.
“I would like to apologize to Ms. Nadine Lustre and to those who got bothered by that sa aspetong ito. I am also apologizing to my radio network DZMM for putting them in discomfort because of this,” he said.
#OnTheSpot Nag-sorry si DZMM Showbuzz anchor Jobert Sucaldito sa aktres na si Nadine Lustre pati na sa publiko kasunod ng kanyang komento na sana tumalon na lang sa gusali ang aktres. pic.twitter.com/TtJuabovIo
— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) January 8, 2020
Other issues
Sucaldito’s crass comments have been the subject of controversies with other artists in 2019.
He previously slammed singer Morissette Amon when she suddenly backed out of the concert as guest to one of his talents, rising star Kiel Alo last November.
Amon immediately apologized for it which Sucaldito eventually accepted.
Prior to this, the radio host also pleaded guilty to a libel case filed by singer Erik Santos back in 2017.
He applied for probation rather than serve a jail sentence for his charges.
