Filipino comedian Alex Calleja and comedy writer Chito Francisco spent a good chunk of their Valentine’s week fighting over a car wash joke.
Calleja, a veteran presence in the Philippines’ stand-up comedy circuit, made his Netflix debut with his stand-up special Tamang Panahon, which began streaming on February 7. The special is currently the most watched show on Netflix Philippines, sharing the spot with the platform’s most watched movie, Hello, Love, Again.
In Tamang Panahon, Calleja makes a joke about a car wash. “Natuwa ako may bagong bukas na car wash,” says Calleja. “Katabi lang namin. Tuwang-tuwa ako kasi walking distance lang siya. Hindi ko na kailangan magdala ng kotse.” The joke is quick, almost as short as a one-liner, and Calleja immediately moves on to his next bit.
However, in a now-deleted Facebook post, Francisco argued that Calleja had stolen the joke from him. “Nanood ako ng Netflix special ng isang pinoy stand up comedian,” Francisco wrote. “Ginamit yung isang joke ko. Well, marami pa ako niyan brod. Madami ka pa puwede [sic] nakawin.” The writer proceeded to repost his version of the joke, dated 2019.
In response to that, Calleja took to Facebook and reposted his original car wash joke, dated 2011. He also argued that he’d even written the joke in 2011 while working as a writer on the shows Usapang Lalake and ABS-CBN’s Goin’ Bulilit. The comedian then posted that he would be meeting with his friend (“and lawyer cousin!”) Attorney Howard Calleja to pursue a cyber libel case against Francisco.
The drama reached its peak when Francisco posted his public apology to Calleja, writing, “I deeply regret what I have done to Alex.” Calleja responded in kind, writing on Facebook, “Apology accepted. Now let’s move on!”
This spat between Calleja and Francisco reveals how deeply a comedian’s identity is tied to their work. Their reactions to criticism went beyond defending a joke — it was about protecting their place in the industry and their credibility as artists. In comedy, where success is often measured by the reaction of an audience, even a small challenge to their material can feel like an existential threat.
