‘I am first honor’: Melai Cantiveros draws laughter, praise among Pinoys, Korean artists

By
Catalina Ricci S. Madarang
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December 15, 2023 - 3:54 PM
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Pictures of Melai Cantiveros-Francisco at the AAA 2023 and her "Best Actor Award" trophy (mrandmrsfrancisco/Instagram)

Comedienne Melai Cantiveros-Francisco gained buzz on X and Facebook for her acceptance speech and appearance at a prominent awards show.

The keyword “Melai” landed in the trending topics of X under the Music Category with over 181,000 posts, as of December 15.

Melai was one of the celebrities who attended the Asia Artist Awards 2023, which the Philippines hosted for the first time. The star-studded affair was held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan on Thursday, December 14.

A talked-about moment of the actress was her acceptance speech for winning the “Best Actor Award” for her movie “Ma’am Chief: Shakedown in Seoul.” She won alongside the following artists:

RELATED: ‘At your service!’: Melai Cantiveros reveals role in movie shot in South Korea

  • Kim Sejeong and Ahn Hyo-seop of Korean drama “Business Proposal”
  • Lee Dong-hwi of “Big Bet” (2022)
  • Lee Jun-hyuk of “The Roundup: No Way Out” (2023)

The movie “Ma’am Chief: Shakedown in Seoul” is the first film produced by Pulp Studios, a subsidiary company of Pulp Group Inc.

Melai’s antics, remarks at AAA

Melai, meanwhile, made the crowd roar with laughter for her remarks when she accepted her award onstage.

READ: ‘I question too’: Melai Cantiveros wins Best Actor at Asia Artist Awards 2023 

“If someone [questions] why I have [an] award, don’t worry. I question too. I just [received] an award all my life from my mother and father when they are angry with me,” she said.

Melai also added: “Tonight, my heart is…the best. I think because God moves in mysterious ways.”

She also apologized to the Koreans in the audience, saying she was “overwhelmed” by receiving such recognition.

Moreover, the veteran Kapamilya star expressed her gratitude to Pulp Studios, which produced the movie, and the Francisco family.

“To my family, we will serve the Lord,” Melai said.

Several social media users later shared video clips of her acceptance speech with other Filipinos online.

They also congratulated her while expressing their amusement with her hilarious and spontaneous remarks onstage.

“Pati acceptance speech dinogshow ni Melai!” an X user said.

“Congratulations, Melai. Super aliw sa acceptance speech mo pero understandable yong gusto mong eexpress. You’re so blessed and sure more to go. Another raise of flag and honor for the Philippines!” a Facebook user also said.

Bang Chan, a member of the Korean group Stray Kids, was also spotted heartily laughing during Melai’s speech. Footage of this moment was shared on X by one of the attendees.

Social media users were also abuzz with her interview with IVE’s Wonyoung, one of the event’s hosts.

Melai initially greeted the audience in mixed Filipino, English and Korean. She then felt “honored” to be invited to the awards show.

She, however, injected humor into her words.

“Attending to AAA is a very honor… I feel like I am the first honor and a valedictorian in attending AAA,” Melai said.

An X user uploaded a video clip of this on the platform. It has since garnered 5,700 reactions and 32,000 likes so far.

“Melai’s thought process should be studied because how do [you] come up with that,” the user said.

When Wonyoung asked her the names of artists she wanted to meet, Melai couldn’t help but gush over Korean actor Kim Seonho and girl group NewJeans.

Her expressions quickly caught the attention of the Korean artists. Some attendees shared videos showing the reactions of Seonho and NewJeans members when Melai mentioned them to Wonyoung.

 

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