Celebrity chef Erwan Heussaff drew a clear line between political disagreement and moral failure, saying the latter is grounds for ending a friendship.
Heussaff weighed in on a debate circulating on Threads, where a user had raised the question of whether long-standing friendships were worth severing over clashing political views. His response, posted on Thursday, May 14, cut straight to the point.
“Political opinions, no. But if it crosses into moral territory, yes,” he wrote. “If someone was the most charitable person you knew, but was also a known sexual abuser. If you can tolerate that and support that person, it says a lot about one’s moral character.”
For Heussaff, a politician’s supporters can be just as telling as the politician themselves. He flagged one particular behavior as an immediate concern: the inability to acknowledge any flaw in a favored public figure.
“Another red flag is if a person can only say positive things about their chosen politicians,” he said. “We all know no one is perfect or even close to it, so if you can’t challenge your own beliefs, we can’t be friends.”
The husband of actress Anne Curtis went further, arguing that honest self-examination should be a standard practice for anyone engaging with politics.
“We should constantly practice discernment. Not blindly defend the people we support, but regularly question whether our choices still align with our values,” he explained.
Heussaff also addressed a separate thread in which a netizen pointed out that influencers and celebrities tend to face far harsher online backlash than politicians do. He agreed with the observation, but framed it as a structural problem rather than a personal one.
“Politicians survive worse scandals because they’re protected by party loyalty, tribal politics, donor networks, and lower expectations,” he wrote. “Social media is built to punish emotional, visible mistakes, not systemic failures. But yes, time to flip that narrative.”
His remarks came at a moment of heightened political discourse in the Philippines, with several celebrities taking public positions on issues including the potential ICC arrest of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa and the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
