The “woke” side of Filo Twitter was recently sent abuzz after allegations against Juan Miguel Severo—a popular personality on and off Twitter—claimed him to be guilty of harassing Paolo Pangilinan, a rising BL actor.
For context, Paolo Pangilinan shared a series of Tweets on June 20, 2021, which did not mention Severo’s name, but drew in a lot of attention after a Twitter user @littlebirdyyy tweeted that the former’s management is planning to press charges against the latter. The user also mentioned that Severo had 3 other victims.
Basta yung sakin lang harassers shouldn’t assert be put in positions of power esp when they’ve been reported already thank u no delete
— Paolo Pangilinan (@PaoPangs) June 20, 2021
Wag kang lalabas buti yan magtago ka naka abang aq 🥰
— Paolo Pangilinan (@PaoPangs) June 20, 2021
JUAN MIGUEL “GEGE” SEVERO HARASSED PAOLO PANGILINAN.
Yezzz you heard it right.. Dats the tea sisz.THREAD.@gscountdown_ @NeighborsOFC_ @PaoPangStreep @ppangpangss @ohmyblgods @paopee_ @tonetjadaone @phipalmos @pangpangarki @paopangsupdates @PaoloBesties @BossBeanSoy https://t.co/zYPlWACakx
— Little Birdy (@littlebirdyyy) June 21, 2021
This issue comes as a surprise as Juan Miguel Severo is known to be a “woke” personality on Twitter who speaks against the current administration and their actions on harassment and abuse— aside from his spoken poetry gigs and his latest work, “Gaya sa Pelikula,” where he and Paolo Pangilinan worked together as writer/creator and actor. As of writing, Severo’s Twitter account is currently deactivated.
Twitter users immediately went on the social media platform to air out their shock, outrage, and betrayal against the renowned personality, with some calling him a hypocrite and others using the chance to make fun of him being a prominent critic of the administration and a “woketard.”
This didn’t age well. Right, Juan Miguel Severo? 😌 pic.twitter.com/YzlwgzoVFT
— K (@KeaneOlivarez) June 21, 2021
GSP was such a deeply affecting Pinoy BL series for me and I can't help but feel betrayed by this entire Juan Miguel Severo fiasco 🙁 Even sadder that themes like consent and sexual positivity are things he always bandied about in his podcast with Tonette Jadaone 🙁
— Luck Lustre (@roughangelo) June 22, 2021
Tw: sexual harassment
The fact that GSP taught us a lot of things, especially the importance of CONSENT, tas ganto???? BASURA
JUAN MIGUEL SEVERO preacher of moral ascendancy at advocate kuno ng safe space pero sexual harasser. Kadiri ka.
— king 👑 (@JAEKKIM_) June 21, 2021
Shit. I'll never listen to Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast the same way again after learning all these harassment issues involving Juan Miguel Severo. Fvck. This is heartbreaking for every Gege and Gaya Sa Pelikula fan out there.
— Eggsy (@ehcelhurns) June 21, 2021
Others have also questioned how much more people like Juan Miguel Severo have been outed as the very people they were speaking against.
Juan Miguel Severo being a sexual harasser himself should be a big realization for us. Are we really practicing what we preach or we're just as horrible as those we hate? Are we really concern to the victims or we're just concern because of our ego? Check on yourself.
— ً (@kissonzytea) June 22, 2021
Being called a “woke” person has always been a stereotype used to label those people who are against the government, outspoken in their views on social issues, and preach on what is right and wrong. To be honest, there’s nothing wrong with being “woke” and vocal with your perspectives and views, since we’re all entitled to our freedom of speech anyway.
It only becomes wrong when you don’t walk your talk and practice what you preach.
You can talk about how rape happens because of rapists, or ask your followers to report a page that sexualizes people, or even write a web series that shows the value and importance of consent. But, whenever you do talk about those things, remember to heed your own advice as well.
Prominent and well-known “woke” people always get applauded for speaking their mind whenever an issue arises, and yet some are eventually revealed to be just as terrible as the people they denounce. Users are right with pointing out how other “woke” people have been called out to be ableists and abusers, and Twitter has always been the platform where these people have been outed.
But not all “woke” people are just like Juan Miguel Severo and other people who have exposed as harassers and abusers. Others were quick to call him and his actions out on Twitter and have been asking him to acknowledge his faults.
It’s about time we hold these people accountable for their actions and their hypocrisy. Nothing hurts more than being told that you’re a hypocrite, you know.
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