‘Eat Bulaga’ hosts Joey de Leon (left) and Senator Tito Sotto dress up as Middle Eastern men by wearing a keffiyeh (headdress) and thawb (Arabic garment) during the show’s Halloween special on Oct. 31, 2015. EAT BULAGA INSTAGRAM SCREENGRAB
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman is demanding a public apology from noontime show “Eat Bulaga” for purportedly being insensitive to Muslims after two of its hosts wore a “Muslim garb” for its Halloween special.
In a statement, Hataman said that the costumes of Joey de Leon and Sen. Tito Sotto were an affront to Muslims.
De Leon and Sotto each wore a keffiyeh (a headdress) and a thawb (an ankle-length garment) which are typical among Middle Eastern or Arab men, including non-Muslims.
“What Eat Bulaga did in its Halloween Special was a mockery of and an affront to the image of the Muslim, apparently in the name of entertainment,” Hataman said.
“This display betrays an insensitivity by these hosts, as they equated the Muslim garb as a costume to be feared, in the way that zombies and ghouls are to be feared,” he added.
The governor reminded that Muslims are being stereotyped as “troublemakers and terrorists.”
“On behalf of the Filipino Moro people, we demand that producers and hosts of the noontime show issue a public apology,” he said.
The Halloween special, which aired on Saturday, showed the noontime show mainstays in different costumes.
However, it was only de Leon and Sotto who wore similar costumes depicting themselves as Middle Eastern men.
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