For the past weeks, Mark Herras has been all over social media after sightings of the actor performing in a gay bar, and seen twice with businessman-turned-singer Jojo Mendrez.

Speaking to ABS-CBN News at an event in Okada Hotel in Paranaque City, Mark commented on all these issues.

During Mendrez’ media conference for his album, Herras made a surprise appearance and handed a bouquet of flowers to Jojo, paired with a “beso”.

Mark explained, “Pumunta ako doon to support Jojo. Kaya lang mabilis, kasi alam ko na once ginawa ko yun, may mga press na. Hindi nga ako nagpainterview.”

He said he did it as a sign of saying thank you for the friendship he has with Jojo.

“We started sa trabaho muna, collab. And then after that, hindi naman mahirap pakisamahan si Jojo. And yung circle of friends niya. And ako naman, on my side madali akong makisama. I have gay parents before, pinalaki ako ng mga magulang. Hindi ako mahirap makisama sa mga tao. And at the same time, after the collab, naging magkaibigan kami ni Jojo.”

“Matagal na kami magkaibigan.” said Mark. 

For his part, Jojo said “We’re good friends. Tao lang ang nagbibigay ng color. Kasi sa social media, pag nakita nila, nagkakaroon ng color kahit wala.”

He added, “Mabait kasi si Mark. Down to earth, simpleng tao. Yun ang maayos sa kanya. Whatever happened to his career, nagdecline or whatever, madali niyang na-accept yon. Hindi siya yung tipong masyadong ambisyoso, yun ang maganda sa kanya.”

DANCING IN A GAY BAR

Weeks ago, a photo of Mark went viral after his performance in a gay bar. Mark confirmed that he was invited to perform.

“Nagperform ako doon as yung sayaw ko hip-hop. Hindi naman ako naghubad, may konting sexy dance pero ginagawa ko naman sa mga mall shows yun. Maraming mga dancers doon, sabi ko, bayad ako doon. Kung yung utak nila ay medyo marumi, hindi ko na ieexplain sa kanila yung ginagawa ko. Basta ako, I’m doing this for my family.”

Jojo said he admires Mark’s sense of responsibility to provide for his family.

“Responsable siya with family, nakikita mo talagang nagpupursigi siya sa buhay niya. Kahit may mga comments na masasakit din sa kanya, hinahayaan na lang niya,” said Jojo.  

Mark has a four-year old son, and a baby girl on the way. 

His partner now is 6 months pregnant and due to give birth this May. That is why Mark needs to work extra-hard to provide for his family.

With all these rumors and buzz about Mark, he is now working on two movies and will appear soon in a show with GMA. He still has a network contract but no longer has a talent management contract with the network’s talent agency arm.

MARK ON ‘LAOS’ COMMENTS

Mark has been in the industry for 21 years. Started out in GMA’s reality show “Starstruck”, mas has done a lot of projects - both TV and movie. And after two decades, Mark is still amazed that he still has fans supporting him.

“Ang daming nagsasabi na - ‘ooh laos na yang si Mark, laos na. I dont really care,” Mark shared.

“Ako thankful na ako na narating ko na yung peak ng career ko before - Starstruck, sobrang wild ng mga experiences ko with showbiz before. Nagpapasalamat na ako, kasi hindi ko siya dream eh,” he added.

Mark’s dream was to become a professional basketball player and he’s pretty excited what this second wind will bring and do for his career.