Joey de Leon caught the netizens’ attention after a clip of him seemingly “body-shaming” his co-host Miles Ocampo circulated online.
In the video making the rounds online, after the “Eat Bulaga” hosts sang happy birthday to Ocampo, former senator Tito Sotto used their segment “Peraphy, pataas o pababa” (higher or lower) to refer to the actress’ age, and de Leon then jokingly asserted “pataba” (fatter).
Netizens took to social media to express their reactions and defend Ocampo from the subtle remark.
“Tumandang paurong ‘yung utak ni Joey. ‘Di ba niya alam dahil may sakit si Miles at ‘yung maintenance niya ‘yung nagpapataba sa kanya,” one netizen said.
(Joey’s brain is getting old. Doesn’t he know Miles is sick and her maintenance medicine is making her gain weight?)
“Did he say “Pataba”???? Wtf. Siya nga patanda ng patanda. Pati utak. Hay. Kala mo naman nuknukan siya ng gwapo!! Siya nga dapat pa-retire na,” remarked another netizen.
(Did he say “fatter”? He is even getting older and older, even his brain. It’s as if he’s that handsome. He should retire now.)
One netizen, however, came to the defense of de Leon: “Ok lang yan close naman sila ni Miles at ganyan talaga humirit mga matatanda.” (That’s ok, he and Miles are close and that’s how older people joke.)
In April 2023, Ocampo opened up about her battle with papillary thyroid cancer, which she cited as the reason for her weight gain.
“Since late last year, I haven’t felt like my normal self. Waking up in the middle of the night because I can’t breathe, I get tired so easily, so frustrated with my weight gain, para akong palaging hapong-hapo and sinasakal,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
“PS: With or without any health conditions, no to body shaming. Be kind. Always. Please,” the actress concluded.
Ocampo celebrated her 27th birthday with a surprise from her “Eat Bulaga” family. The actress-host was in tears as she thanked the Dabarkads for the surprise.
Meanwhile, over the years, de Leon came under fire for his jokes deemed offensive regarding “mental health, suicide and rape.”
