The Fallacy That is Willie

Fact: There had been an anomaly in Willie Revillame’s show called Wowowee, specifically in their then two-day old segment called Wilyonaryo.



Fact: This so-called anomaly happened sometime last week. (I have yet to research when exactly.) [Blogger's note: I heard today (08/31/07) that the blunder happened last August 18.]

Fact: This blunder, seen by all Wowowee followers, has spurred a controversy in the net where a video clip of the said segment has been posted for the entire world to see.

Fact: No statement had been released by anyone from Wowowee or from ABS-CBN, the carrier network of the show, to address the said controversy from the time it happened until Tuesday this week.

Fact: Joey De Leon, one of the many hosts of Eat Bulaga which is Wowowee’s noon-time rival, and is known for dropping playfully placed striking comments to anyone he spites, naturally seized the controversy and, as said by those who witnessed, did his deed.

Fact: In yesterday’s Wowowee telecast Willie spent the first part of his show partly claiming that he is no cheater and mostly attacking Joey de Leon for being mean to him in spite of him idolizing the veteran host.





Fact: Willie even insisted that if in fact he did something wrong, then he doesn’t care if the show’s fans leave him or if the ABS-CBN management fires him.

Fact: In Willie’s speech, he kept on saying, “wala naman akong ipapakita dahil hindi ako mandaraya” but he never proceeded on explaining what really happened with the purple wheel, the zero, and the two in that fateful game of Wilyonaryo.

Fact: In between showing Willie trying so hard to keep his tears, the director of the show managed to slide a few shots of the audience, weeping sympathetically for their beloved Willie.

Fact: I didn’t know of this issue, not until I saw, in last night’s news, video clips of Willie in what I perceived as “whining like a baby”.

Fact: I don’t know Willie or Joey personally, I am not in anyway affiliated to any of their shows nor any of their networks but I still feel compelled to share my opinion because I know that I am part of the viewing public who witness the circus they run on a daily basis.

Opinon: Whether ringmaster Willie or his staff is to fault for their game show’s blunder, they owe the public an explanation of what happened. If Willie and the staff of Wowowee really are loyal to their audience and put them first above all else just as they say, then they would muster the decency to look into the purple wheel anomaly at that instant when Willie pulled the black thing and revealed the number zero instead of the expected number two. They could have gone into a commercial break, discussed it among themselves and returned back to air to explain what just transpired. The issue would have died there. After all, we’ll all believe that it was just an honest mistake we saw.

But Willie and everyone around him acted like nothing big of a deal just happened thereby insulting the ability of their audience to assess what just took place right before their eyes. Once again, the viewers were taken as non-thinking Neanderthals, not keen enough to sense that in a way they’ve been had. The same way they’ve been had when 71 of their fellow TV show watchers died while a number of others were hurt for the same show in the hopes of improving their lives as promised by none other than Willie himself. And that tragic event which happened not too long ago is slowly being erased in the mind of the public as Wowowee seems to be moving on barely looking back, except of course when the issues on the court hearings are being raised.

Willie said in his speech strongly directed to Joey, “Sa yo na yung ratings mo!” delivered in such a way which couldn’t have been more childish. I take it as a total bull because being on television, ratings is inevitably everything for you. OK, he loves his audience, he wants to help, he wants to entertain. He can’t do that without his ratings! Ratings that will pave the way for the pouring in of advertisers. Advertisers that will give him the funds to continue loving his audience, helping them, and entertaining them.

In Willie’s monologue, he never delved into the incident which as he says Joey de Leon is attacking him for. He denied that he’s a cheater, tried to win the people’s sympathy by ostentatiously betting his career against being proven a cheater, then proceeded on attacking Joey like he were Joey’s neglected child.

Although Willie’s bravado had been noted it was really uncalled for. He could have just told the public what really happened thereby giving them the chance to think for themselves. Perhaps only then can they judge Willie. I cannot seem to reconcile why Willie had to drag Joey into his mess.

Joey de Leon has less to do with this issue. Perhaps his only mistake was playing with fire which Willie just turned into a torch. And Joey, being the opinionated person that he is was merely expressing his sentiment on simple TV ethics, being that he is a veteran at game shows himself. In a way he maybe protecting the image of contests on TV, one in which history he somehow is a part of. Or then again he may be just being his naughty self, playing the devil's advocate in the war of the networks.

Willie himself admitted that he’s a fan of Joey’s, even emulating the latter at times. It follows that he knows Joey’s quirks—that he has a penchant for uttering stingy remarks for the fun of it, if not also for the thrill of it. Willie should have been used to Joey’s game by now. He may get hurt but he shouldn’t go crying on TV. Unless of course if Joey poked him at a part of him which was exceptionally sensitive, perhaps even too sensitive to tackle upfront and is easier to address by digressing elsewhere.

Of course, ABS-CBN will not dump Willie this time. Not after releasing a statement today that the anomaly, the root of this issue is nothing but a technical glitch in their contest’s second run. They wouldn’t throw Willie out especially now that all of their credibility, integrity and all those –ities are at stake. Although their decision to speak now is rather late, isn’t it?

Let’s not deny that by yelling, “Joey, sige na, ikaw na ang number one!” Willie just won himself the lola wiping her tears, the misis ng tahanan controlling her sobs, and the rest of the studio audiences on the verge of weeping for him as zoomed in by their very attentive cameramen and director who must have excellent reflexes. Good strategy in Willie’s part. Perhaps he'll get a raise for that. If only he flooded the set with tears, then I would have crowned him the king of Argumentum ad Misericordiam (Argument that Appeals to Pity).

***NOTE: I opted to post Willie's moment here to highlight how daft-like he looked and to show the whole of his daft-like act.

****FINAL FACT: My dad whose name is also Willie is thinking of having his name changed. "Nakakahiya!" he says.