Vice Ganda’s ‘It’s Showtime’ spoken word performance copied from Darryl Yap?

Vice Ganda’s spoken word performance in last Saturday’s inaugural episode of It’s Showtime on GMA-7 drew generally positive reactions from the public, but at least one was left baffled. Songwriter and content creator Lolito Go thus created quite a stir on Facebook for sharing his opinion that Vice’s piece strong resemblances that of director Darryl Yap’s 2020 spoken word poetry titled Buo.

“Ipahinga na natin ang isyung Shaira vs. Lenka. Ito na ang bagong issue. Vice Ganda, nangopya ng speech kay Darryl Yap? (Let’s put to rest the Shaira vs. Lenka issue. This is the new issue. Vice Ganda, copied speech from Darryl Yap?)” came Go’s initial statement on FB, dated 7 April.

Go shared that he watched Vice’s performance and he couldn’t help but notice the words spoken by the TV host and comedian had semblance to those written by the director and can be seen in the YouTube channel of VinCentiments.

He first asked his FB followers to watch side-by-side the two spoken word performances.

“Unmistakable yung resemblance ano? Binalasa lang yung mga salita pero almost the same ang thoughts, delivery, pati yung heroic music almost identical (The words were only jumbled),” he said.

Then, he made a pun out of the TV star’s name, asking “Kaya ba ‘Vice’ lang sya? Pumapangalawa lang, sumesegunda? (Is this because he’s just ‘Vice’ only? He’s just second, being second only?).”

“In fairness,” he added, “Vice Ganda (Jose Marie Visceral in real life) rose to fame because of her wit, originality and spontaneity. Self-made sya and no one can argue against that fact. And because of her charm and chutzpah, she has grown bigger and bigger in time.

“Hindi na mabilang ang projects and endorsements. I can only guess na hindi na kaya ng oras nya ang magmultitask; she would need a team. Which can also mean na baka hindi na sya ang nagsusulat ng ibang speeches or sketches nya (Innumerable projects and endorsements. I can only guess her time doesn’t permit her to multitask. She might not be the one who writes her other speeches or sketches),” he said.

Go pointed out that “whoever wrote Vice’s monologue can’t convince me na hindi nyo napanood ang monologue ni Darryl Yap na ‘Buo’ na 2020 pa nabuo” as it has a strong resemblance in “pacing, theatrics.”

“Kung may writer nga si Vice, maybe it’s time to do some auditing. Baka kasi marami nang iba pang ginagaya, nakakalusot lang. Pero kung si Vice mismo ang sumulat nito, I would assume that she secretly admires the work of Darryl. Maybe it’s just a case of ‘cryptomnesia’ (If Vice indeed has a writer, maybe it’s time to do some auditing. Maybe there had many other copied works that just slipped. But if Vice herself wrote it, I would assume that she secretly admires the work of Darryl).”

He then shared the meaning of the word as described by Wikipedia: “Cryptomnesia occurs when a forgotten memory returns without its being recognized as such by the subject, who believes it is something new and original. It is a memory bias whereby a person may falsely recall generating a thought, an idea, a tune, a name or a joke; they are not deliberately engaging in plagiarism, but are experiencing a memory as if it were a new inspiration.”

Go also noted, “Of course I don’t discount the possibility na coincidence lang ito. Freak coincidence. However slim the chances are, pwede pa ring nagkataon lang talaga ang lahat. Nagkataon lang na parehas ng content, parehas ng delivery, parehas ng pacing, parehas ng theatrics, parehas ng music. Almost parehas pa nga ng boses eh (However slim the chances are, it’s still possible that everything was just a coincidence).”

He enumerated some similarities between Vice Ganda and Yap: both are members of the LGBTQIA community; have a poor background; love their friends and families; overcame numerous rejections; being witty, funny, opinionated, hardworking; and rose over hardships to become whole and successful.

“At baka dahil sa mga pagkakaparehong ito, may tendency rin talaga na iisa lang ang maging tenor ng mga talumpati nila. Iisa ang hugot, iisa ang baon (And maybe because of these similarities, there is a tendency that the tenor of their speeches is similar. It’s one tone, one dig),” he opined.

Go then asked, “Nangopya nga ba si Vice kay Darryl? (Did Vice copy from Darryl?).”

“Kung ako ang tatanungin, mahirap ideny yan. Pero plagiarism ba, copyright infringment? Or course not. Hindi naman kopyang kopya ang mga kataga (If I were to be asked, that’s hard to deny. The words were not exactly copied).

“I wouldn’t go as far as accusing Vice Ganda or her writers of plagiarism. Idea or concept lang naman ang ginaya. And I know very well na ideas and concepts are generally not protected by copyright. Copyright protects the specific way an idea is expressed, not the underlying idea itself. This means that two different people can have the same idea, but as long as they independently create their own original expression of that idea, there is no copyright infringement.”

For Go, there is no crime if there is no copyright infringement.

“But just because it isn’t criminal doesn’t mean it’s not unethical,” he asserted. “Unethical pa rin ang mangopya ng idea. Kung manggagaya, magpaalam sa pag-gagayahan. O kaya naman, give proper credits. Ano lang ba yung ilagay na ‘inspired by?’ (It’s still unethical to copy an idea. If you’ll copy, you ask for permission. Or give proper credits. Putting ‘inspired by’ is a small thing).”

But just the same, Go still believes that “Vice does great in her own league.”

“At iba rin ang liga ni Darryl. Bakit hindi na lang sila magcollab? (And Darryl also belongs to a different league. So, why don’t they make a collab?),” he finally said.

Consequently, Vice Ganda’s fans came to her defense by posting on thoughts social media.

“I don’t think so... Magkaiba ang wordings.. Dapat yong mga ganito na nagbibigay lang naman ng inspirasyon sa iba.. No issue na dapat.. Spread love (Different wordings. Things like these that give inspiration to others shouldn’t be an issue).”

“Just my opinion. I don’t think ginaya. I think this is just base na rin sa ups and downs na naranasan ni Vice, sa mga taong nakakasalamuha niya sa showtime and even behind cam. Sadyang may malawak na pag unawa din si Vice about life same as Direk Daryl and same ng iba sa atin. Kaya dapat happy lang, dapat walang issue (Not copied. It’s based on Vice’s ups and downs and experiences, and people she met. Vice just has a wide understanding about lie, just like Direk Darry and the rest of us. That’s why everybody just be happy, no issue).”

“Parang wala namang ginaya. Ibang iba wordings. Pagdating sa delivery, ganyan naman tlaga ang spoken poetry ideliver. I don’t know what’s the big deal (I think there was no copying. Completely different wordings. When it comes to the delivery, that’s how it is in spoken word delivery).”