Jervi Wrightson: Breaking the Script

Jervi Wrightson never allowed herself to think that her childhood dream of becoming a news anchor was possible.

“Nung bata ako, pangarap ko yan,” she tells us today. “Sabi ng mom ko, nag-re-report ako sa harap ng salamin. Tapos lahat ng mga contest before—declamation, oratorical competition—sinasalihan ko. Parang sabi ay, pwede kang maging newscaster, parang si Korina Sanchez, or si Karen Davila. Eh ayun nga eh, pinanganak na lalaki,” she quips.

Her childhood self would be proud of her today. Wrightson, better known by the public as her comedic alter ego KaladKaren is, in fact, an entertainment news anchor today—the first transgender woman in the country to do so. She is also a host, an actress, and a staunch advocate for her community, the LGBTQIA+ sector. It’s a heavy role she’s assumed in front of the camera, with the weight of representation hanging over her, but also the joy of hope breaking clearly through the haze.

The path to the limelight, though, was not a straight one. After graduating from the University of the Philippines Diliman with honors in broadcast communication, Wrightson’s first job was as a writer for long-running noontime show Eat Bulaga. Roles as a producer and head writer followed in the local television broadcasting industry. “Parte na talaga ng sistema ko ang television production,” Wrightson says, sharing, “but never did I imagine that I could be in front of the camera, because I was trained to work behind it.”

It wasn’t for lack of dreaming; it just seemed that a transwoman on cam was too zany a concept for the times. “Nung nasa college kami—siyempre broadcast communications—a lot of my batchmates wanted to be a broadcaster or news anchor. Eh, iniisip ko, wala namang trans na nasa news na humaharap sa camera at nagbabalita. So ako, parang tinanggap ko na lang na, ah, hindi yan para sa akin. I can work behind the camera, but I cannot be a news anchor in front of the camera.”

Jerick Sanchez

Fate, however, had different plans for Wrightson, and her versatility became her leverage. In 2017, a video of her impersonating her childhood idol Davila went viral, and the sensation called KaladKaren was born. This led to television hosting stints, movie roles—even a Best Supporting Actress win at the Metro Manila Film Festival, another first for a transgender woman—and, eventually, a regular gig delivering the nightly entertainment news on primetime TV, for the entire nation to see.

To be a transwoman, and put yourself out there in front of the entire country requires a certain kind of bravado, which Wrightson is fully aware of. “It takes a lot of courage to be who I am,” she says. “Although sabihin natin na we’re ‘tolerated,’ hindi pa rin kami fully accepted. Wala nga tayong batas na nagpoprotekta sa transgender women. I understand why other people don’t come out of the closet, or why kids are still afraid.” “But,” she adds firmly, “nandito kami para ipakita sa inyo that it’s okay to be who you are, na you can live a normal life.”

Wrightson is aware that’s a lifelong battle she’s taken on. “Malayo na, pero malayo pa,” she explains. It’s a battle, though, that she gladly answers the summons for, one that her own voice will always speak up for. “We have to use our voice every single day of our lives, to show who we are, to ask for what we want, to fight for our rights. We have to use our voice every single time.”

Art direction by Nicole Almero. Beauty direction by Larissa Joson. Makeup by Booya, assisted by Grace Robiato. Hair by Aica Latay. Styling by Gee Jocson, assisted by Eru. Photographer’s assistants: Karl Rimando and Dave Orpilla.