MANILA, Philippines — Vice Ganda and Kim Chiu exchanged remarks on social media Tuesday after Vice Ganda's acceptance speech at the inaugural FAMAS Broadcast Arts Awards drew criticism from fans who noticed that the comedian failed to mention Chiu while thanking the hosts of "It's Showtime."
Vice Ganda won Best Host for Entertainment at the inaugural FAMAS Broadcast Arts Awards held on July 20. ABS-CBN's noontime program "It's Showtime" also received the Best Variety Show award.
During the acceptance speech, Vice Ganda thanked several of the show's hosts but did not mention Chiu, leading to some fans questioning the omission on social media.
Addressing the issue during Tuesday's episode of "It's Showtime," Vice Ganda said, "Kim Chiu, congratulations to us! Nakalimutan ko banggitin yung pangalan mo kahapon. Pasensya na po. 16 po kasi yung host. Wala akong prompter." (Kim Chiu, congratulations to us! I forgot to mention your name yesterday. I'm sorry. There are 16 hosts, and I didn't have a teleprompter.)
Chiu responded jokingly, "Sanay na ako hindi nababanggit. Di ba nga nung nakaraan din." (I'm already used to not being mentioned. Wasn't it the same the last time?)
Vice Ganda replied, "Di nababanggit pero pinapasalamatan ng personal." (You may not be mentioned publicly, but you're thanked personally.)
Despite the on-air banter, several fans continued to express disappointment online.
One X user wrote, "Strange how someone could forget to mention her name when she's an essential part of the show — one of the main hosts while the newer ones were mentioned."
Vice Ganda responded by posting, "The toxicity of these fantards! @prinsesachinita."
Another user criticized the explanation, writing that it appeared to be favoritism because newer hosts were acknowledged while Chiu was not.
Quoting the post and tagging Chiu, Vice Ganda wrote, "Grabe the kacheapan of these fans! Look @prinsesachinita." (These fans are being incredibly cheap! Look, @prinsesachinita.)
About an hour later, Chiu appeared to address the issue on X without directly mentioning Vice Ganda.
"Ayaw ko na sanang palakihin ito. Pero bilang mga taga supporta hindi naman cguro ka cheapan ang tawag duon. Cguro po marahil sa sobrang pagmamahal at supporta nila sa idolo nila ay protective sila. Initial reaction po cguro ito. Hindi sa tinolerate ko sila pero sana hinayaan na natin ito. Kung wala ang mga taong sumusuporta at lubos na nagmamahal sa atin wala din tatangkilik sa lahat ng ginagawa natin."
(I didn't want to make this any bigger. But as supporters, I don't think it's fair to call them cheap or petty. Perhaps they're simply being protective because of their love and support for their idol. Maybe that was just their initial reaction. I'm not tolerating their behavior, but I hope we could just let it pass. Without the people who support and genuinely love us, no one would patronize the work that we do.)
She later added, "Let's spread love and love always!!!!"
Vice Ganda also appealed to his supporters to avoid attacking others online.
"Sa aking mga LITTLE PONIES hindi sapat at katanggap tanggap na dahilan na mahal nyo ko para maging masama kyo sa iba. Ipinagpapasalamat ko ang suporta nyo but i will not enable your toxic behavior just because i seek ur support. I love you my mature and thinking Little Ponies!"
(To my Little Ponies, loving me is not a sufficient or acceptable reason to be unkind to others. I appreciate your support, but I will not enable toxic behavior just because I want your support. I love my mature and thoughtful Little Ponies!)
"Little Ponies" is the name of Vice Ganda's fan community.
He later injected humor into the situation with another post, writing, "Sa mga kamag anak ng Nanay ko sana po wag nyo kong ibash dahil nakaligtaan kong imention ang Nanay ko sa speech ko kagabi." (To my mother's relatives, I hope you won't bash me because I forgot to mention my mother in my speech last night.)
"Ay di po kami magkaaway. Magka-message po kami now. As in." (Oh, we're not fighting. We're actually messaging each other right now. Seriously.)," he finally said.
Vice Ganda has been with "It's Showtime" since its launch in 2009, initially as an evictable judge before becoming a main host, while Chiu joined the program as an official regular host in September 2020 after making several guest-host appearances.