Fans of Awra Briguela didn’t hold back in calling out an online personality accused of “mocking” the trans actress for using female pronouns in a post celebrating her high school graduation.
The controversy stemmed from a Facebook post by ABS-CBN News congratulating Awra on earning her senior high school diploma from the University of the East.
The caption read: “Awra Briguela on finally getting her high school degree: ‘Simula pa lang ito,’” and referred to Awra using her preferred pronoun, her.
Content creator Jack Argota, also known online as Sir Jack Gaming, reshared the article with the caption: “Anong her? Goodluck bro!”
The post quickly sparked backlash from fans who called out Argota for “misgendering and disrespecting” Awra.
One of Awra’s largest fan pages on Facebook, with over a million followers, responded through its administrator with the post: “Sa pagiging mabait na nga lang babawi, ‘di pa nagawa. – Admin.”
The admin followed up with a remark that was seen as “mocking” Argota’s cleft palate, saying: “Talo ako don, siya ang tunay na trans, may [hiwa] siya eh – Admin.”
Shortly after the page’s clapbacks, Argota responded with a post distinguishing between queer people with “bad attitude” and those he described as “gooding,” a term he used for kind and well-mannered members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Pag ang bakla masama ugali, bading yan. Pero pag mabait, gooding yan,” he wrote.
He also defended himself against accusations of being homophobic, saying, “Hindi ako against sa mga Bading at kahit kailan hindi nangyari yun. [For your information] tatlong bestie ko mga bading pero mababait ‘yun kaya sila ay mga Gooding.”
“Kayo nagsimula at pinagkakaisahan n’yo ko, pati mga influencer na bakla na nagpapakalat ng kabaklaan nagsama sama para laitin lang ako. Pumapalag lang ako sa pangbubully n’yo tapos papalabasin n’yong ako ang mali masama? Ang kabaklaan ‘yan mga sir? Love ko nga kayo eh tapos inaaway n’yo ko,” he added.
Meanwhile, Awra’s fans continued to call out netizens tagging Awra as “Bronny James” — a reference to LeBron James Jr., son of NBA superstar LeBron James — a line they said has been repeatedly used to make fun of the artist’s appearance.
“Hanggang kailan niyo gagamitin/icocomment yang Bronny James na ’yan? 2025 na andyan pa rin kayo?” the admin questioned.
Awra has been vocal about her experiences as a trans woman, most recently confronting the name-calling against her back in February on her Instagram Channel.
“As much as I want to ignore all the Bronny James comments-because honestly, I don’t really give an F. Sometimes you guys go too far, spamming me with that comments. For what? To ruin my day or just to get noticed?”, wrote Briguela.
“Just because I choose to ignore things doesn’t mean I don’t get hurt. This is a small reminder that everyone has their limits and boundaries. I always try to be kind and take the high road, but sometimes, some of you take things too far. If this happens again, I will not hesitate to report it, as I do not tolerate this kind of behavior,” she added.
