Dubbed as the "Phenomenal Superstar" by the media,[9][10] Vice Ganda is the highest-grossing Filipino movie actor of all time, with a total movie gross of ₱4.6 billion since 2022.[11][12] He has received numerous awards including two Asian Academy Creative Awards, a FAMAS Award, a Guinness World Record[13] and a star on the Eastwood City Walk of Fame.[14] With nearly 50 million combined followers,[15] he is one of the most followed Filipino personalities across all leading social media platforms.[16][17]Forbes Asia lists him among the most influential celebrities in Asia Pacific[18] while Reader's Digest named him as one of the most trusted personalities in 2023.[19] He was the first LGBTQ endorser for Globe Telecom.[20][21]
Early life
Before coming out to his family and loved ones, Vice Ganda was known as "Tutoy", which was his nickname as a young boy.[22] The youngest of six children, Vice Ganda grew up in the neighbourhood Sta Cruz, Manila.[23] His father, a native of Taysan, Batangas, and a barangay captain in Tondo, Manila, was murdered when he was young, prompting his mother, an Ilocana from San Juan, La Union, to leave her children to work abroad as a caregiver.[24] Vice was able to sustain his studies due to a scholarship granted by an unknown Japanese woman who funded his education from third grade until second year college.[25][26] He studied political science at Far Eastern University but was not able to complete his studies to pursue his career.[27]
Career
1997–2008: Stand-up comedy and cross-over to television and films
Vice Ganda started out as a singer, then as a comedian for Punchline and The Library in Manila, whose owner Andrew de Real gave him the stage name "Vice Ganda".[28] He was discovered by Hans Mortel who later introduced him to De Real, the "Godfather of Malate" and "King of Comedy Bars" who had served as his mentor for his comedy skits.[29][30] There he spent several years developing his material in the comedy clubs.[29] His career began to build after appearances on television and reviews from tabloid columns.
He works alongside fellow comedians Chokoleit, Pooh, John Lapus and Rey Kilay.[29] Vice is widely known for his observational comedy and situational irony type of comedy skits.[30] In 1999, a talent scout and now a fellow television comedian and manager, Ogie Diaz, discovered Vice in one of his visits to the comedy bars.[29][30]
He appeared first as Antonia in the Judy Ann Drama Special aired by commercial television network ABS-CBN.[31] He also made a cameo appearance in Sa Paraiso ni Efren, a film produced by Regal Films. In the same year, Vice appeared as one of the guests for Comedy Central Market under GMA Network and became a guest performer for a now defunct show, SOP, in the same network. In 2002, he was one of the contenders in "O Diva" and "Birit Queen", both singing contests in Eat Bulaga!, the longest-running noontime show in the Philippines.[32] Since then, he played minor roles or guest roles in various television programs of ABS-CBN such as M.R.S. (Most Requested Show) and various roles in a drama anthology, Maalaala Mo Kaya.
Vice Ganda (right) hosting in the "Showtime Goodtime" segment of It's Showtime.
Vice Ganda's biggest break was when he became part of It's Showtime, a talent search program of ABS-CBN premiered in October 2009.[36] The role was refused by then comedian Long Mejia until he was offered to replace Mejia as an unelectable judge. With this career break through, Vice's life story of being bullied as a young, closeted homosexual has also been featured in the drama anthology, Maalaala Mo Kaya.[37]
In 2010, he gained widespread popularity due to his jokes and sarcasm. He was one of the supporting roles for Hating Kapatid alongside Judy Ann Santos and Sarah Geronimo.[38][39] In the same year, he starred in his first ever feature film, a remake of the 1988 comedy film, Petrang Kabayo, originally played by Roderick Paulate.[40] The film was an instant hit at its release and became one of the best-selling Filipino film of 2010.[41] In the same year, Ganda staged his first ever major concert titled as "May Nag-Text.. 'Yung Totoo! Vice Ganda sa Araneta" held at the Araneta Coliseum.
In 2011, he became host of his own Sunday talk show, Gandang Gabi, Vice!, which ended in 2020.[42] In the same year, he won the Bert Marcelo Achievement Award for Excellence in Comedy at the 2011 GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards. He also appeared on various guest roles for television series, Your Song, 100 Days to Heaven and I Dare You. Vice then launched his successful 2nd major concert at the Araneta Coliseum, a sold-out event called "Eto Na: Vice Ganda, Todong Sample sa Araneta".[43]
In 2013, he starred in another hit movie alongside Maricel Soriano called Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy, an official entry of the 2013 Metro Manila Film Festival.[49] The movie earned Ganda a Best Actor nomination at the MMFF and earned him Movie Actor Of The Year award at the 2014 Philippine Movie Press Club Star Awards for Movies (PMPC).[50][51] In the same year, Ganda had his 3rd major concert called "I-Vice Ganda Mo Ko sa Araneta", a live concert that sparked controversy with GMA Newshead journalistJessica Soho.[52]
In 2019, Vice Ganda together with Anne Curtis top-billed the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival entry, The Mall, The Merrier.[71] This was the first time that he did not top the box-office of the said film festival and ended up on a 2nd place behind Miracle in Cell No. 7.[72] Vice also staged his first ever duo concert with Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez titled as "The Songbird and the Song Horse" at the Araneta Coliseum. The concert was a major success and had a run for three consecutive shows on February 14–16, 2019.[73][74]
In June 2021, he hosted a game show, Everybody, Sing!, which replaced his own talk show Gandang Gabi, Vice!, the game show concluded in October 2021,[42][75][76] then returned to television for its 2nd season in September 2022.[77] The show made Vice Ganda the first Filipino to win "Best Lifestyle", "Entertainment Presenter/Host" in the fourth Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA).[78] Due to the restrictions brought upon by the COVID pandemic, he launched his first ever digital pay-per-view concert "Gandemic: The VG-tal Concert" in Sky Cable.[79] After few months, with the easing of restrictions, Vice returned to live stage with his concert "Vax Ganda: A Dose Of Laughter" at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California and in Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.[80]
In 2022, Vice Ganda returned to movies through 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival entry Partners in Crime under Star Cinema alongside vlogger Ivana Alawi which ended up as the second-highest grossing entry of the said film festival.[81][82] The film was later on screened in Saitama and Nagoya, Japan in February 2023.[83] Vice pushed his success further as he won numerous awards such as "Most Outstanding Twitter Influencer", "Most Outstanding Social Media Personality", "Most Influential Multimedia Filipino Celebrity", and "Most Outstanding Entertainment Show Host" at the 5th Gawad Lasallianeta held at the De La Salle Araneta University.[84] Ganda also won "Best Variety Show Host" at the 2023 Platinum Stallion National Media Awards of Trinity University of Asia.[84][85] He renewed his contract with ABS-CBN on 2023 and announce series of concert shows in Canada and the United States.[84][86]
In 2011, Vice Ganda released his first studio album, Lakas Tama under Vicor Music. It features mostly pop and novelty songs, including his lead single "Palong Palo", written by Callalily frontman Kean Cipriano.[89] In the same year, he was also included in the compilation album of Showtime, released by Star Records.
In 2013, he released his self-titled album under Star Music.[90] Ganda's carrier single "Karakaraka" featuring Filipino rapper Smugglaz quickly reached the top spot of the most-downloaded songs in the online musical portal MyMusicStore on the first day of its release.[91] The hit single was used as theme song of the 2013 romantic-comedy Star Cinema film Bromance: My Brother's Romance. In 2014, Vice Ganda released his 3rd album, entitled #Trending, which featured the song "Boom Panes" and "Push Mo Yan Teh!". The album reached gold record status with more than 7,500 copies sold in its first week according to the Philippine Association of the Record Industry, Inc. (PARI).[92] The album featured songs that speak about social issues including gender inequality and corruption.[92]
In 2015, Vice Ganda released his single "Wag Kang Pabebe" with a music video released on July of the same year.[93] He also released "Eh di Wow" as official soundtrack for Inday Bote and a cover of Jolina Magdangal's "Chuva Choo Choo" as a soundtrack for his film, Beauty and the Bestie. In 2016, Vice released the sound track for his film The Super Parental Guardians, titled as "Ang Kulit", an original composition under Star Records.[94] The song was composed by Jonathan Manalo in which Ganda expressed his gratitude to him for making the single along with his previous hits like "Wag kang Pabebe" and "Boom Panes" during Manalo's show at the Music Museum.[95] In 2017, Ganda released his ballad single "Hanggang Kailan Aasa"[96] and his pop single "Gigil si Aquo".[97] The following year, he released "Ganda for All", a non-album single and "Kay Sayang Pasko Na Naman" in 2019.[98]
Book
On July 16, 2016, Vice Ganda launched his first book titled President Vice: Ang Bagong Panggulo ng Pilipinas (lit.'"President Vice: The New Troublemaker President of the Philippines"'),[99] a parody about how he would deal with problems of the Filipinos in case he was elected the next president of the Philippines.[100] As of 2017, the book has already sold more than 100,000 copies in the Philippines.[101]
Cosmetics
On October 7, 2017, Vice Ganda launched "Vice Cosmetics", his own brand of cosmetics. In an interview by Rappler during his successful Meet-and-Greet at TriNoma store, he said that the idea to start his own makeup company started when he was offered to endorse a cosmetics line.[102] His products from Vice Cosmetics are all designed and made in Los Angeles.[102] In line with the launch, a concert named "Ganda For All" was held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with various performers including its first ever celebrity endorsers, Maymay Entrata and Kisses Delavin.[103] During the event, Vice Cosmetics earns Guinness World Record after 6,900 people applied lipstick at the same time surpassing the record of MaryKay Cosmetics in China with previous record of 5,840.[104]
Personal life
Vice Ganda appearing in a rally in support of Leni Robredo's presidential campaign.
Vice Ganda does not mind being addressed with either masculine or feminine pronouns, identifying as non-binary. He has advocated for queer rights and representation throughout his career.[3]
Vice Ganda reportedly suffered from depression due to career issues and personal problems.[105] One of his biggest life inspirations is his teacher who told him to "always follow his dreams no matter how big or wild they are."[106] Since November 2018, he has been in a relationship with Ion Perez, a member of the supporting cast on It's Showtime.[107] On his YouTube vlog uploaded on February 13, 2022, he revealed that he and Perez underwent a commitment ceremony on October 19, 2021, at The Little Vegas Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.[108]
Politics
Vice Ganda endorsed Davao City mayorRodrigo Duterte for president, during the 2016 Philippine elections,[109] and has had him on as a guest for his late-night television show Gandang Gabi, Vice!.[110] For the 2022 Philippine elections, he endorsed Vice PresidentLeni Robredo for president, stating that "Tayo dapat ang manalo. Si Leni Robredo ang magpapanalo sa atin. Ang tagal-tagal na natin talo. Ipanalo naman natin ang isa’t-isa. (We should win. Leni Robredo will make us win. We’ve been losing for so long. Let’s make each other win)."[111] At Robredo's miting de avance (final rally before election day), he also endorsed SenatorKiko Pangilinan for vice president.[112]
Philanthropy
In 2013, Vice Ganda auctioned off some of his clothing and performed for a fundraising comedy show and donated all proceeds to ABS-CBN's Sagip Kapamilya (Save a Family) relief operations for those affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda, one of the deadliest and most powerfultropical cyclones ever recorded.[113][114][115][116] He also joined a charity basketball game organized by fellow celebrities and PBA players held at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City to raise funds for families affected particularly in the Visayas region.[117]
In 2020, during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, Vice Ganda donated face masks, disposable gloves, safety goggles, alcohol, and disinfectant spray for use by health workers in various hospitals in the Philippines.[118][119][120] Apart from his extensive donation campaign for medical frontliners, Vice Ganda also provided financial assistance to more than 400 employees of his cosmetics company.[118] Vice Ganda also launched his post-birthday donation drive for two barangays in Quezon City wherein he handed relief packs containing canned goods, rice, noodles, soaps, among others to 850 families in Brgy. South Triangle and Brgy. Paligsahan.[121]
Vice was among the performers that appeared in "Pantawid ng Pag-ibig: At Home Together Concert".[122] He launched his single "Corona Bye-Bye Na" during the live telecast.[122] The show aimed to as a fundraiser for basic necessities for those affected by the pandemic.[122] Vice Ganda also partnered with Angel Locsin to provide beds in a temporary air-conditioned sleeping tents for medical staffs and other essential workers of Taguig City.[123]
In November 2020, Vice Ganda together with boyfriend Ion Perez, sibling Babot Viceral, actor-dancer Jhong Hilario and fiancé Maia Azores, began a donation drive which allocated more than ₱1 million to help purchase donations for people affected by Typhoon Vamco, known locally as Ulysses.[124][125]
In August 2021 episode of his show, Everybody Sing! wherein the contestants are mountaineers and hikers, Vice added donation to the Bourne to Hike Mountaineers' beneficiaries- the Aeta communities in Bicol region.[126] In November 2021, he donated his a day-worth of talent fee to ABS-CBN Foundation for the benefits of the victims of Typhoon Odette in Cebu and Siargao.[127] Ganda announced this during It's Showtime live telecast influencing his fellow hosts to donate their talent fees as well.[127][128]
In November 2021, during the annual "Magpasikat" competition of It's Showtime hosts against each other.[129] Vice and his group together with Ryan Bang and Jackie Gonzaga won runner up and dedicated their winning prize of ₱100,000 to The Ruth Foundation for Palliative and Hospice Care (Ruth Foundation Project Reef Care).[129] The said foundation caters to COVID and Non COVID cases and help them with medical care.[129]
In January 2022, he donated ₱500,000 to a 10-day benefit concert headed by Regine Velasquez in the "Tulung-Tulong sa Pag-ahon campaign" of ABS-CBN Foundation to aid further recovery of typhoon Odette-affected families.[130] In March 2022, in a vlog uploaded in his YouTube account, Vice extended help to random strangers by paying for the medicines they bought in a pharmacy opposite AFP Medical Center in Quezon City. According to him, finding the money to buy medicine is a big headache for a lot of people so he paid for the expenses of all customers throughout the day.[131]
In April 2024, Ganda and fellow It's Showtime hosts donated their winnings from Family Feud to their chosen beneficiary, "PISTON," an association dedicated to jeepney drivers nationwide.[132] This donation came at a time when the drivers were protesting the government's planned jeepney phaseout.[132]
Public reception
Cultural impact
Filipino humor
Vice Ganda's use of sarcasm in his style of comedy is cited by various researchers as a major contributing factor to the modern Filipino humor. According to a study conducted by a group of researchers from the University of San Jose - Recoletos, half of the participants showed confidence from mimicking Vice Ganda's style of humor, with a majority of them stating they mimick his style of humor during conversations.[133] In a separate study by the Centro Escolar University and Western Mindanao State University about the pragmatics of Filipino humor, Vice Ganda's popularity in various entertainment mediums like television and the internet, as well as his use of irony and conversational witticisms greatly influenced the popular comedic strategies used by Filipinos in their day-to-day conversations, sometimes even to the point of being disrespectful towards the elderly among Vice Ganda's younger audience.[134]
LGBT rights
The popularity of Vice Ganda, an openly gay individual, in the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic nation, is seen by observers as vital in kickstarting discussions of LGBT people to the mainstream media.[135] He himself is an advocate to the local LGBT movement in the country, and is one of the prominent personalities that seeks equal opportunities to the LGBT members in the Philippines. He supports the SOGIE Equality Bill, a series of bills that was introduced to the Philippine Congress starting from the 2010s that aims to enact protections against discrimination towards LGBT people. In a live episode of It's Showtime in 2018, where he is one of the hosts, Vice Ganda expressed his opinions about the bill, saying that he faces discrimination in using comfort rooms of either gender, that the bill should be passed as soon as possible.[136]
In 2018 and again in 2020, he became the cover image for the magazine Mega, becoming the first LGBT member to do so in the history of the magazine.[137]
Controversies
Gang rape jokes against Jessica Soho. In May 2013, Vice Ganda was widely criticized for making several jokes about gang rape during his I-Vice Ganda Mo Ko! comedy concert show. One of them was directed towards the news anchor and journalistJessica Soho, whom he mentioned in a joke regarding several personalities starring in a hypothetical pornographic film. Women's rights group GABRIELA condemned the joke as being distasteful in light of rape victims. Journalist Arnold Clavio, a colleague of Soho, defended the news anchor and expressed his disapproval of Vice Ganda's body-shaming remark in one of the former's radio programs.[138] Although Vice Ganda initially defended his stance, saying that the brand of humor he uses is based on his roots doing stand-up in comedy bars and karaoke lounges, he nevertheless issued an apology over the issue during an episode of the noontime show It's Showtime.[139]
Nora Aunor. Actress Nora Aunor became a target of Vice Ganda's style of humor during an episode of It's Showtime. Aunor pulled out as judge for the grand finals of the show's segment Tawag ng Tanghalan at the last minute. Aunor believed Vice Ganda's brand of insult comedy was against her moral beliefs, and was perturbed with the idea of being on the show alongside Vice Ganda.[140]
Apollo Quiboloy. On one of his daily comedic discussions following a performance by Gian Magdangal on Tawag ng Tanghalan: Celebrity Champions, Vice Ganda made a joke after the founder of Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Apollo Quiboloy, among other claims of being responsible for stopping calamities, claimed that he was responsible for stopping the 2019 Cotabato earthquakes. Vice Ganda jokingly challenged Quiboloy to stop the airing of It's Showtime, which is one of the longest-running ABS-CBN television programs alongside Ang Probinsyano, and the constant traffic on EDSA, a major road network in Metro Manila. Members of Quiboloy's church took offense and expressed their dismay for Vice Ganda.[141] Radio broadcaster and SMNI anchor, Mike Abe, a friend of Quiboloy, defended the founder and criticized Vice heavily in his program.[142] Two days after the joke, Quiboloy instead threatened that he will not only stop Ang Probinsyano, but also to shutdown ABS-CBN as a whole within four months. The network went off-air in 2020 in a controversial refusal to renew the network's franchise by the legislature,[143][144] an act that was seen by Quiboloy and his followers as the fulfillment of his previous remarks against the comedian.[145]
Cake-icing Finger. During the "Isip-bata" segment on It's Showtime, Ion Perez and Vice Ganda faced criticism from social media motivational speaker Rendon Labador for actions perceived as inappropriate. Labador challenged the MTRCB for the alleged misconduct of Ion and Vice, leading to the subsequent suspension of the show for two weeks by MTRCB's Lala Sotto.[146]
Accusation of malice. On May 31, 2024, during the "EXpecially For You" segment of It's Showtime, participants Axel and Christine greeted each other as the former approached the latter. However, Vice Ganda perceived the greeting as an unwanted kiss (nagnanakaw ng halik), calling out Axel immediately after the greeting.[147] After participating in the segment, Axel and Christine each released their statement on the matter, with both saying that the greeting was similar to a pound hug.[148] Vice Ganda, in a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), intended to apologize to Axel after the statements were released. However, on June 4, 2024, he retracted his apology, stating, "Bilang main host po nung segment na yon, it was my duty to call that action out. Dahil kung hindi ko rin ginawa yon, ako rin ang maku-call out, bakit namin hinahayaan. (As the main host of that segment, it was my duty to call that action out. Because if I didn't, I would get called out and asked why we let it happen.)"[149]
Ganda broke the Guinness World Record for the most number of people applying lipstick (6,900 people) at the grand launch of his new cosmetics line, Vice Cosmetics.[163]
^Vice Ganda states that he is indifferent to using male or female pronouns, and openly identifies as non-binary.[3] This article uses he/him pronouns for consistency.
^Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
^"Profile: Vice Ganda". Asia's Most Influential profile, Vice Ganda. Tatler Asia. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
^Inquirer, Philippine Daily (December 17, 2019). "'The Mall the Merrier'". INQUIRER.net. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
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