Vice Ganda

Early life

The youngest of five children, Vice grew up in the neighbourhood along José Abád Santos Street in Manuguit, Tondo, Manila. His father, a barangay captain, was murdered when he was young, prompting his mother, an Ilocana from San Juan, La Union, to leave the children for work abroad as a caregiver.

He studied political science at Far Eastern University.

Stand-up comedy

Vice started out as a singer, then as a stand-up comedian for Punchline and The Library, whose owner Andrew de Real gave him the stage name "Vice Ganda". There he spent several years developing his material in the comedy clubs. Vice’s 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.

Television

He appeared in several television series and sitcoms such as Dyosa, under the direction of Wenn V. Deramas. Vice also had another supporting role in the drama series Maging Sino Ka Man: Ang Pagbabalik. In 2009, he became part of Showtime, a talent search programme where he eventually gained his present role as a regular presenter/judge. His life story of being bullied as a young, closeted homosexual has also been featured in the drama anthology, Maalaala Mo Kaya. Aside from Showtime, he is currently hosting his own Sunday talk show, the consistently top rated Gandang Gabi, Vice!. Currently, he is under the management of ABS-CBN, and handling him is business unit head Deo Endrinal after being managed for four years by local entertainment columnist/host Ogie Diaz. Then, in 2016, he became one of the judges in Pilipinas Got Talent starting in season 5.

Film

Before venturing into mainstream movies,Vice starred in minor roles in an independent film Condo with Coco Martin until 2009, where he appeared alongside Vilma Santos and John Lloyd Cruz in the film In My Life. A year later he starred in a remake of the comedy film, Petrang Kabayo, which was an instant hit at its release. The following year, Vice starred in Praybeyt Benjamin with Derek Ramsay, directed by Wenn V. Deramas. The movie became the first local film to reach 300 million pesos in ticket sales, and proved to be an even greater box office success than Petrang Kabayo. He is presently under contract with Viva Films. In 2012, he starred in the Filipino comedy film This Guy's In Love With U Mare! under Star Cinema and Viva Films, alongside Luis Manzano and Toni Gonzaga, directed by Wenn V. Deramas. He had a cameo in the film Bromance: My Brother's Romance in 2013. He made another movie called Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy. In 2014, Star Cinema released a movie called The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin an official entry for the MMFF 2014. He participated alongside actress Alex Gonzaga, and actors Richard Yap and James "Bimby" Aquino-Yap. The film was directed by Wenn V. Deramas. In 2015, Star Cinema released Beauty and the Bestie, an official entry for the MMFF 2015. He participated alongside actor Coco Martin, Kapamilya loveteam James Reid and Nadine Lustre or shortly called as JaDine, actors Marco Masa and Alonzo Muhlach, and comedians MC Calaquian and Lassy Marquez. The film was directed by Wenn V. Deramas.

Music

On June 15, 2011, Vice released his first studio album, Lakas Tama under Vicor Music. It features mostly pop and novelty songs, including "Palong Palo", written by Callalily frontman Kean Cipriano. He is also included in the compilation album of Showtime, released by Star Records. On April 30, 2013, Vice Ganda released his 2nd album, self-titled, and debut album under Star Records. On 2014, Vice Ganda released his 3rd album, entitled #Trending, which featured the song Boom Panes and Push Mo Yan Teh!

Book

On July 16, 2016, Vice launched his first book titled President Vice: Ang Bagong Panggulo ng Pilipinas (lit. President Vice: The New President of the Philippines), a satire about how he would deal with problems of the Filipinos in case he was elected the next president of the Philippines; it was published by ABS-CBN Publishing.

Public reception

Viceral's brand of humor has been viewed as polarizing. Much of his comedy style is sarcasm, making fun of current events, and picking on the physical appearance or social status of other people. The latter has been met with criticism from some Filipino audiences, viewing it as a denigrating form of insult comedy or off-color humor at the expense of those mocked by the comedian.

Controversy

In May 2013, Viceral was widely criticised for making several jokes about gang rape during his I-Vice Ganda Mo Ko! comedy concert show. One of them was directed towards respected news anchor Jessica Soho, whom he mentioned in a joke regarding several personalities starring in a hypothetical adult movie. Philippine women's rights group GABRIELA condemned the joke as being distasteful in light of rape victims. GMA reporter Arnold Clavio, a colleague of Soho, defended the news anchor and expressed his disapproval of Vice's remark in one of the former's radio programs. Although Viceral, 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, the comedian eventually issued an apology over the issue during an episode of It's Showtime!.

Renowned actress Nora Aunor expressed disapproval of Viceral's comedic style, leading her to withdraw abruptly from a scheduled appearance as a special guest judge at the Tawag ng Tanghalan grand finals. Aunor cited her moral beliefs as being in conflict with Vice's brand of insult comedy, which contributed to her discomfort with participating in the show.

Cultural impact

As cited by Bautista (2012), researchers from University of San-Jose Recoletos studied the role of sarcasm and criticism on Filipino humor. Half of 100 participants stated that they gain more confidence from mimicking Viceral’s style of humor, while 64% of the respondents said that they usually imitate Viceral’s sarcasm during conversations with other people.