On September 26, Kapuso artist Anjay Anson recalled getting bullied because of his Indian heritage.
At the media conference for their Kapuso youth-oriented series, ‘Sparkle U,’ which LionhearTV covered, Anson recounted how his schoolmates would tease him with Indian-themed music when he arrived.
“Hindi naman po online ‘yung sa akin, pero since Indian po ako, parang– yeah may race issue po ito. As in everyday kapag papasok ako sa School, lagi akong may maririnig niyan na– as in.
“So parang noong una, parang naano ako na-apektuhan po ako. Pero noong tumagal naman po, parang naging immune ka rin naman po.”
However, as he grew immune from all the teasing, he became close friends with those who ‘bullied’ him.
“Tsaka ‘yung mga nangaasar po sa akin noon, sila rin ‘yung mga kasama ko ngayon, mga kaibigan ko rin po sila ngayon na parang doon rin po nabuo ‘yung friendship din po namin.”
He also discussed how he defines friendship now by remaining true to the people he interacts with.
“Actually para po sa akin kasi, hindi po ako nagde-define ng barkada, ng tropa, or friend. I’ll just be true to them at sa lahat. Kasi alam ko rin naman na kapag naging totoo ako sa kanila, magiging totoo rin sila sa akin. And na-prove din nila sa akin kasi ‘yung kahit mga nakaka-work ko din, as a long as I’m true with them, sila rin honest sila din sa akin.”
‘Sparkle U’ includes two stories with #Frenemies and #Ghosted.
‘Sparkle U: #Frenemies’ stars Shayne Sava, Abdul Raman, Michael Sager, Roxie Smith, Zephanie, Princess Aliyah, Anjay Anson, Lauren King, Vanessa Peña, Matt Lozano, Leandro Valdemor, Sue Prado, and Geleen Eugenio.
‘Sparkle U: #Ghosted’ features Sofia Pablo, Allen Ansay, Marco Masa, Liana Mae, Rufa Mae Quinto, and Archie Alemania.
Under the direction of Barry Gonzalez, ‘Sparkle U’ airs every Sunday on GMA Network.