Get weekly updates via email!

tip of the day SUN 26 MAY 13

Invest in closet classics like one little black dress, a white polo shirt, and a pair of slacks. After you have them all, you can splurge

31 DAYS TO HAPPY

A brand new look with more of the tried, tested, and trusted content you've been reading for 15 years!

Grab a copy now!

FAMILY AND PARENTING

You are here: Home > Family and Parenting > 6-Year-Old Jan-Jan Cries While Dancing on Willing Willie: Cute or Cruel?

Pia Garcia, Contributor

Print Email

March 29, 2011

6-Year-Old Jan-Jan Cries While Dancing on Willing Willie: Cute or Cruel?

A young boy was made to dance on the noontime show even as he was crying. Do you think that this was right? Take the poll! By Pia Garcia

16 Comments
Add Yours

Willie Revillame is once again in the middle of a hot issue being discussed all over the web. This time, talk involves not just him, but also a guest on his noontime show, Willing Willie. On March 12, 2011, a guest on the show was egged on by Willie to perform a rather suggestive dance so that he could win a cash prize. The circumstances that made this case unique was that Jan-Jan, the guest, was six years old. A video posted on YouTube showed that the child was weeping while he was performing, and the in-studio audience seemed unconcerned about his discomfort.

Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), voiced her displeasure in an official statement posted on the DSWD website. "The sequence shows the boy gyrating in a distasteful manner with the audience, including the host (Willie Revillame), manifesting no evidence of concern or alarm for the child."

The statement went on to say that "putting pressure on children to do acts such as mimicking adult sexy dances, in exchange for a certain amount of money, and at the expense of being laughed at and ridiculed by hundreds of people, clearly traumatizes the child. This is a clear form of child abuse and will not be tolerated by the DSWD." Secretary Soliman then sent a letter to Manny Pangilinan, the president of the network that airs Willing Willie. In her letter, Secretary Soliman cited Republic Act 7610, the act that protects children from abuse, exploitation, and discrimination. She says that given the definitions in RA 7610, "it is unmistakable that what happened last 12 March 2011 to Jan-Jan Estrada was child abuse."

Opinion is divided on this issue. In an article on SPOT.ph, a reader named proud kapatid said, "ipagpatuloy mo lang Willie ang pagpapasaya at pagtulong mo sa masang Pilipino! walang masama sa ginawa mo (Willie, continue helping and making the Filipino masses happy! There is nothing wrong with what you're doing)!"

Timmy, another SPOT.ph reader said, "Shame on you Willie Revillame."

We want to know what you think about this latest controversy involving Willie Revillame and his show. Do you think that what he did was cruel or cute?

(Screencap courtesy of joyloveangel on YouTube)

Page 1 of 1

Poll Question:

Was pressuring Jan-Jan to dance on Willing Willie cute or cruel?

Cruel. But this is not just Willie's fault, Jan-Jan's parents and the aunt that was with him should be blamed as well.
Cruel. Jan-Jan was crying and upset, Willie should have known better than to make him dance.
It was cute at first, but once Jan-Jan started to cry, his parents, if not Willie himself, should have put a stop to it. That's when it crossed the line into cruelty.
Cute. It's normal to be nervous, but Jan-Jan still went on with his dance, and he'll probably emerge stronger for it (not to mention P10,000 richer).
Cute. It's an entertainment show, and Willie had every right to make sure that his audience was amused.
I don't care about Willie Revillame, his show, or any of the people who appear on it.

Tags: Willie Revillame, jan-jan, DSWD, willing willie, spot.ph, child abuse

Follow @FemaleNetwork

Join us on Facebook

COMMENTS

Name :

Email :

Website :

Comment :

Security Image

[change]

NOTE: FemaleNetwork.com is a CLEAN ZONE. Editors reserve the right to delete obscene comments.

Filter comments by:

luisacart Mar 29 2011 @ 10:34am Report Abuse

i sent this to a friend of mine who grew up in the US and she got mad at me kasi daw the video is offensive. i didn't thought of it as "cruel" bec i thought it was hilarious but i do understand why it's borderline offensive, sana ndi na lang dinrag ni willie yung joke nung pinahba nya saka kasi naging offnsive.
Last modified A long time ago
fem Mar 29 2011 @ 11:47am Report Abuse

I watched willing willie episode last night. Grabe Jan-jan's parents are really forcing him to dance! such a shame to the father... kahit na sumasagot ung bata na he likes whats he's doing pero makikita mo sa muka nya na napipilitan lang sya.. grabe!
Last modified A long time ago
honeybee05 Mar 29 2011 @ 12:43pm Report Abuse

the kid only says he likes what he's doing because, like any other kid, likes getting his parents' approval, but he doesn't really understand what he's doing. that these adults--his parents, aunt, uncles, and willie revillame--are even encouraging him to do this kind of thing is wrong when they know better. fine, it was cute at first when he said he liked to dance, but when he started dancing and willie revillame started prolonging the joke and making fun of him all the while saying that he's doing it for his family because life is hard--now that was just mean.
Last modified A long time ago
raydelle143 Mar 29 2011 @ 03:03pm Report Abuse

non sense issue grabe pinapalaki lng para msira nmn si willie ay bkit gnyan kya mga tao instead problemahin nio nalng prob ninyo..
Last modified A long time ago
Mia Mar 29 2011 @ 04:41pm Report Abuse

Watever...simple things pinapalaki my gosh...u hev to be broad minded ok...marami lng gustong manira sa show ni willie revillame dhil mas nakakaangat siya at ang programa niya... Kung anu anu napapansin.. Bakit hindi kya ang problema ng pilipinas ang bigyang pansin pra khit papaanu nman umangat nmn sna economya natin.. Mga corrupt sa gobyerno n akala mu kung sinong mababait nsa loob pla ang kulo... Hay nku buhay pilipino kung my umaangat n sisirain..sna dpat sariling buhay at problema dpt ang unang pinagtutuunan ng pancn at hindi ung super super nonsense n bgay.. There is nothing wrong with that show ok!!!!!
Last modified A long time ago
flawlessPetite Mar 29 2011 @ 05:05pm Report Abuse

i think they're just critisizing Willy again. But for me, i did not see anything wrong with that. And i find it so cute! And the kid even said that he was just scared of Balingit. which scares him a lot. Ang laking mama ba nman nun eh.
Last modified A long time ago
honey Mar 29 2011 @ 05:15pm Report Abuse

it was really offensive & cruel! the child was already weeping! tapos pinipilit pa pasayawin, para saan? para lang sa pera? If we're just going to ignore such incidents, baka akalain ng ibang bata na ok lang yung mga ganun basta kumita ng pera...

one more thing,i want to reiterate that Parents should be the one providing for their children, not the other way around.
Last modified A long time ago
jenjen Mar 29 2011 @ 09:49pm Report Abuse

st*p*d show! there is nothing wrong in making a child dance. all parents do that. but make him dance sexy in front of a big crowd...on live television..while crying?? f**k?! what is wrong with you people? and the parents are so mukhang pera for exchanging this child's dignity for 10k pesos??! this boy is scarred for life. f**k! sasabih pa ng iba, sinisiraan lang ang show...e baka kayo ang nasisiraan na ng bait dahil wala na kayong moralidad basta sumaya lang kayo ng konti. e kung kayo kaya ang gumiling-giling sa tv..tingnan natin kung masikmura ninyo!
Last modified Mar 30 2011 @ 11:17am
black hatter Mar 29 2011 @ 11:24pm Report Abuse

FemaleNetwork, please remove the child's photo. That's contributing to child abuse.
Last modified A long time ago
ladyabsinthe Mar 30 2011 @ 02:53pm Report Abuse

when i saw the vid, instantly, i feel the whole scene was distasteful. my heart goes to that poor child. nilakasana nalang nya ang loob kasi alam nyang kailangan nila ng pera, pero still his emotions crumbled down ng dahil sa hiya. sana ang mga magulang nya ngayon, nalulunod na sa hiya at kunsensya.
Last modified A long time ago
charmedwitch776 Mar 31 2011 @ 05:23am Report Abuse

it's simply cruel. whatever willie's reason ndi tama pa din. dapat when he saw na the child is crying he ask him to stop na. eh kaso to make the matter worst pinasayaw pa sya sa tumataas na podium...ngarrr..those saying it's okay napanood nyo ba ang whole show? 3 times willy asked him to dance kahit umiiyak na ang bata..ngarrr..where's our child protection law!!!
Last modified A long time ago
blushydamsel Mar 31 2011 @ 05:53pm Report Abuse

dami palang fans ni willie here! :>

anyway, i would think na it's a cruel thing for willie to do that. but the child's parents should be blamed as well. hindi naman natin sa pinapalaki ang issue dito, but some people do care enough for other people's welfare para mapansin kung ano ang tama and mali. if no one's gonna tell willie that he was wrong on what he did to the child, then how will he know that? eh 'di ang dami na niang mapagt-tripang mga bata in the future. sometimes, people need to be put to a difficult situation just to learn what is right. Just my two cents. :)
Last modified A long time ago
che Apr 01 2011 @ 03:35pm Report Abuse

sir will, sana naman po bago ka magtanong or mangasar etc. lalo na sa bata always look at the eyes, eyes in the window of our soul...alam niyo na po na nalulungkot na po siya hindi na po natatawa this can affect the behavior of a child, coz the child is wondering...if he is no good ect at medyo nakaramdam na natakot na rin siya..."selfesteem" niya baka tumatak to sa isipan ng bata... at inulit-ulit mo pa sir will. medyo hindi na pleasing sa bata at kilatisin mo pa ng mabuti yong tao bago kayo magtanong at pagtawanan ng mga tao lalo na sa bata...
Last modified A long time ago
bob Apr 03 2011 @ 12:59pm Report Abuse

kasalanan ng mga parents for making the boy dance like this; no valid excuses for this! kasalanan ni willie because as host, he had control of the show. kasalanan ng TV show producers and personnel because they continued to roll the cameras. kasalanan din ng live audience for allowing themselves to be played up. what the hell is happening to our country???!!!
Last modified A long time ago
maya Apr 05 2011 @ 12:07pm Report Abuse

dapat pati magulang ng bata kasuhan ng dswd...for allowing and TEACHING their son that "dance move"...magkapera lang sila kahit kahihiyan ng anak nila isasangkalang nila. may psychological effect kaya sa bata yun.
Last modified A long time ago
abu saduh Apr 09 2011 @ 12:02pm Report Abuse

Let Willie explain his side...Willie is a good person he help the poor people in the country.
Last modified A long time ago