The said actor is a minor.
In a now-viral post on social media, actor Zaijian Jaranilla earned praise for his reaction at a recent press conference for his movie Guryon.
During the said event, his co-star Kanye Avendaño was also asked by a certain member of the press.
The 12-year-old was first asked about his recent projects, whom he gamely answered being the hit digital show Ang Mutya Ng Section E on streaming platform Viva One.
However, that led to a follow-up from the said reporter, who understood that he is an artist under Viva Entertainment.
On a whim, he asked the child actor: “‘Pag lumaki ka ba, magbi-Vivamax ka? Joke lang.”
Vivamax, now known as VMX, is an adult streaming platform known for its softcore movies and shows intended for mature audiences.
“Hindi po,” Avendaño replied as several people inside the room laughed.
It was when Jaranilla, who is a former child actor himself, came to his rescue and respectfully responded on his behalf.
“Underage pa po si Kanye kaya ingat lang po tayo sa mga gano’ng tanong,” said Zaijian.
The press member answered him and said, “Pasensya na, joke lang ‘yon.”
The said clip, which was shared by user “church boi santino” on X (formerly Twitter) has since circulated on the platform, with many users expressing their concern and disgust over the incident.
One user who quoted it said: “This behavior should not be normalized in journalism. asking that question to a MINOR is gross.”
“(Ang) daming pwedeng itanong dun sa bata, ayun pa talaga? Disgusting,” another shared.
At present, there is still no comment from any of the parties in this story.
