Last week, photos of a good-looking carrot farmer from Sagada went viral on social media and netizens called him “Carrot Man.” Jeyrick Sigmaton in real life, the GMA-7 magazine program “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” was the first to interview him in person and the first to feature him on national television last February 28, 2016.

However, some netizens was offended by what Historian Jimmuel Naval (who acted as the consultant in said segment/docu) had said. The Professor mentioned during the interview that the Caucasians during the 1900s intermarried with locals and “improved” the Igorot race, hence the discovery of “Carrot Man” which netizens described as a look-alike of Dennis Trillo, Alden Richards, Korean superstar Lee Min Ho and Taiwanese superstar Vic Zhou.

Because the word “improved” swiped the sensitivities of some people, Jessica Soho issued a statement of apology on the official Facebook page of “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” which reads:

Nakarating po sa aming kaalaman ang hinaing ng ilan sa isang bahagi ng inere naming istorya tungkol kay Jeyrick Sigmaton o “Carrot Man” at sa mga kababayan nating Igorot. Nais po naming humingi ng paumanhin sa mga na-offend o nasaktan dito.

Sa paggawa ng istoryang ito, layunin naming hindi lang ipakilala ang lalaki sa likod ng viral na litrato, kundi para ipakita rin ang pamumuhay at pangangailangan ng mga kababayan natin sa Cordillera at higit sa lahat, maipagmalaki ang kultura nating mga Pilipino.

Maraming salamat po sa inyong pag-unawa at patuloy na pagsuporta.

Watch the whole “Carrot Man” segment on Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho below: