Mon Confiado no longer pursuing case vs. Facebook user who wrote 'copypasta' joke about him
Mon Confiado said he's no longer pursuing the case he filed against a Facebook user who wrote a local version of the "Flying Lotus copypasta," which presented the Filipino actor as a shoplifter and an unpleasant person in a grocery store.
Confiado told PEP.ph that Ileiad, or Jeff Leanneroie Bonilla Jacinto in real life, had already apologized to him anyway. Moreover, Jacinto's mother also messaged him several times, apologizing on behalf of her son.
“Mahirap lang daw sila. Wala silang pambayad ng abogado," he is quoted as saying.
The actor also noted that he's been so busy lately.
While the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has sent Jacinto a subpoena already, Confiado opted not to attend hearings anymore.
“Nasa kamay na ng NBI. Ako naman, pinapaubaya ko na lang," he said, adding that it isn't a huge case. He didn't specify what case he had filed.
"Kumbaga, ang bottom line lang naman ay makapagbigay ng awareness na hindi naman tayo dapat ginagamit," he said.
Asked if the complaint has been elevated to a case in court, Confiado said he wasn't able to monitor it anymore but thinks it hasn't reached that stage yet.
"Padadalhan siya ng subpoena, iimbitahin ng NBI, kailangan niyang magpaliwanag para pagbatiin kami. 'Yun naman ang purpose," Confiado said.
In the Philippines, after a criminal complaint has been filed, authorities conduct a preliminary investigation, which determines if there's probable cause to file a formal case in court. The complainant and the accused are given the opportunity to submit their respective affidavits and counter-affidavits. There may also be a clarificatory hearing that requires both parties to attend.
Confiado pointed out that what matters is Jacinto learned his lesson. He also acknowledged the importance of the media coverage.
“Ako naman, nakapagbigay ng awareness, okay na 'yun sa akin," he said.
Confiado thinks it's also for the best to not push through with the case.
"Baka sa bandang huli," he said, "ako pa ang mapasama kapag ito ay tinuloy ko at pinatulan pa."
What the viral 'copypasta' post said
In the copypasta, the poster recalls how he supposedly met Confiado at a grocery store in Marikina, noting how "cool it was to meet him in person." But the poster was taken aback because Confiado was supposedly rude to him. The user said he also supposedly saw Confiado trying to leave the supermarket with "fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying," pertaining to the chocolate bar.
The girl at the counter, who's "very nice and professional about it," supposedly told Confiado, "Sir, you need to pay for those first," only for him to allegedly pretend to be tired and not hear her though eventually gave in.
When the girl scanned one of the bars multiple times, Confiado supposedly told her to scan each bar individually "to prevent any electrical interference," as he turned around and winked at the poster.
Though the girl did what Confiado told her and informed him of the price, the poster noted how Confiado "kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly."
'I Saw Flying Lotus in a Grocery Store...' copypasta
According to Know Your Meme, a website dedicated to documenting internet phenomena, copypasta is "any block of text that gets copied and pasted over and over again, typically disseminated by individuals through online discussion forums and social networking sites."
Merriam-Webster Dictionary also has an entry for copypasta: "data (such as a block of text) that has been copied and spread widely online."
Ileiad's post, as it turned out, is a derivative of the "I Saw Flying Lotus in a Grocery Store..." copypasta. (Flying Lotus is an American record producer.)
It is a "popular copypasta in which the poster tells a story of a famous person acting like a jerk in a grocery store. The subject of the copypasta is usually a very well-liked celebrity, thus pranking people into thinking someone they really like is actually rude."
It traced the origins of the entry to the imageboard website 4chan's messageboard "/mu/" dated June 29, 2012.
Know Your Meme noted that it spread on Sept. 1 of that year, and later on, Flying Lotus' name got replaced with celebrities like Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Gosling, Anthony Fantano, Kendrick Lamar, Masahiro Sakurai, and more.
