Kris Aquino tells son Bimby amid gender rumors, ‘Whatever you are, I'll accept’
In a heart-to-heart conversation posted on her Facebook page on Friday, April 23, Kris Aquino told son Bimby that she will accept him “whatever you choose to be.”
Kris’ statement is a reference to Bimby’s gender identity, which had been the subject of rumors and bashing online. The 50-year-old TV actress previously addressed this issue last month, telling her detractors that Bimby does not identify as gay but “in the event he ever does, he will still be my son.”
Now, on her latest Facebook video, Kris and Bimby addressed the rumors head-on, with the 14-year-old celebrity son saying he identifies as straight.
The video, Kris said, serves their “last hurrah” as the TV host decides to step away from the limeight following the negative and hurtful comments posted about her sons Bimby and Joshua in recent weeks.
"I'll set the record straight. I'm straight. I like women. I don't like boys.” Bimby said.
He added, “Ako lang ha, they're entitled to their own opinion on what they think about me just as long as you don't, like, attack me.”
"Like if you say, 'I think he's gay,' I'll respect that. I'll say no, I'm not gay. But if you say, 'Uy, beki si Bimb, kadiri,' that's wrong. As long as you debate with someone at may respeto ka sa tao, okay lang, sure. If you have different opinions, okay lang iyan, sure.”
Asked by Kris what he feels about the online comments claiming he is gay, Bimby said: “I just feel like, 'Sige, if you think I'm gay, all right, dude. But you do realize na that gay community sa Philippines is a strong community. And you do realize na I'm 13 (years old). I'm 14 in a few minutes."
“So parang like, it did not go through my mind, like, 'cause I know what I am. I'm straight. I'm straight as an arrow.”
To this, Kris said she will accept Bimby whatever he chooses to be. "I wanna bring this out also. Whatever you are I'll accept,” Kris told her son.She added, ”I really don't care, honestly. And, you know, parang whatever you choose to be, it will be fine with me for as long as you excel.”
Kris clarified this statement by saying, "If you're gonna be gay or whatever you're gonna be, you better be the best at the profession you choose to be.”
"That's just my feeling. And I am so anti-homophobia.”
Kris addressed the rumors surrounding Bimby’s gender identity in a 2017 video. In the 2017 vlog, Bimby said he is aware that people think he’s a “homosexual.”
Kris tells Bimby in the 2017 vlog, a clip of which is also circulating on Twitter, “Don’t be homophobic, right? That’s the whole message. And whatever your choice in life is, that’s your choice.”
“Why would you judge a child?” Bimby asked, facing the camera.
“Don’t judge a child and don’t make the decision for the child,” Kris said.
In an earlier video also posted this week on her Facebook page, Kris talked about Bimby’s father, basketball player James Yap.
“What made your dad special was that, initially, he trusted me by telling me something that he didn’t have to tell me,” she said while refusing to give the full details on the topic.
Banner photo from Kris Aquino's Facebook page
