Hoax Alert: Oprah Sues Sister of Philippine President Over Self Comparison? Spider-Man 2 Cancels Philippine Showing?
The youngest sister of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III continued to generate controversy, this time being the subject of parody Web sites that says TV host and actress Kris Aquino is being sued by American TV host Oprah Winfrey and is being blamed for the alleged cancellation of the showing of Spider-Man 2 in the Philippines.
Even without being the object of satire by hoax story Web site The Adobo Chronicles, the presidential sister has been gossip fodder because of her personal life, particularly her colourful love life ever since she had a son with a much older actor against the wishes of her mother, former Philippine President Corazon Aquino.
On Monday, Kris was also the subject of another satire when a viral photo spread in social media sites with the caption saying the then visiting U.S. President Barack Obama told the Philippine president that he definitely does not want to meet Kris. Netizens rode on the issue and expressed apprehension that she may say embarrassing things to the American leader.
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Netizens can't really be blamed for being wary every time the 44-year-old actress speaks. Just last week, she boasted to actor Andrew Garfield that the first movie of her younger son by basketball player James Yap, Bimby, made more money that the first Spider-Man movie when shown in the Philippines.
The local movie titled My Little Bossings, the top grosser in December's Metro Manila Film Festival, actually was heavily criticised for using the two hours to just feature all the product endorsements of Kris and Bimby. Others said the real star of the movie was not the presidential nephew but his chubby partner Ryzza Mae Dizon who won the Best Child Performer award in the festival.
Capitalising on Kris's gaffe, the satire Web site So, What's News? issued a hoax report that Columbia Pictures announced on Tuesday the cancellation of the Philippine screening of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It quoted a Jon Arbuckle of Columbia Pictures as saying, "We have decided to now show the movie in the Philippines due to fears that it would not be up-to-par with Filipino's standards in film quality."
It directly linked the decision to Kris's alleged brag to Garfield, pointing out that "After the interview, Garfield became so worried that if a locally produced movie could beat an international blockbuster, what are the chances that the sequel would fare better."
The parody also touched on the excessive showing of commercial products by the Aquinos when it stated that Garfield suggested to Marc Webb, the film director, to add more scenes such as Spider-man eating a bowl of Lucky Me Pancit Canton or washing his costume using Ariel, two of the many products featured in Bimby's movie.
On the same day the parody came out, The Adobo Chronicles also released its satire news article that Queen of TV Talk Shows Oprah Winfrey is allegedly suing Kris for defamation for claiming she is the Oprah of the Philippines.
The satire news even quoted lawyers of Oprah as having stated that there is no point of comparison between the two female TV hosts because "Oprah's breadth of experience and interviewing skills are not even a close match to the neophyte Aquino."
In fairness to the presidential sibling, the fears of Filipino netizens that Kris would embarrass the nation was unfounded because she apparently was quiet or at least was not quoted as saying anything to Mr Obama during the state dinner where she was shown wearing a purple gown.