Esnyr Ranollo admitted that being raised in an unwelcoming community as a gay kid was never easy.
In Karen Davila’s vlog, the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition third placer recalled his struggles when he was young, saying he had to push himself to prove his worth.
“Sobrang hirap,” he said. “Sa probinsya po kasi, sa amin, super konti lang po ng mga gays. Mali siya para sa kanila kaya doon nalang po ako bumabawi sa mga academics. Pino-prove ko ‘yung sarili ko kahit hindi ko alam kung bakit pine-pressure ko ‘yung sarili ko.”
According to Esnyr, he never got the chance to come out to his parents as he was afraid of their rejection.
“Feeling ko hindi nila ako matatanggap ‘pag sinabi ko po mismo sa kanila na bakla ako kaya medyo wala po talagang confirmation sa pamilya na ‘Ma, Pa bakla ako.’ Parang go with the flow lang. Parang recently nalang po ako nakapag-spread my wings kasi takot po talaga ako,” he explained.
Esnyr even had to hide in the shadow of masculinity, saying: “Kumbaga paminta-minta po ako before kaya lahat po ng mga throwback pictures ko palalaki talaga.”
READ:Esnyr Ranollo shares what it was like returning to the outside world after 118 days in 'PBB'
The TikTok star, who rose to fame for his engaging school-themed skits, shared that he even had to covertly record his videos when he was just starting out.
“Pag nag-sho-shoot po ako ng TikTok, dun po ako sa kwarto,” he recalled. “Nung pandemic po ako nag-start, may mga times na kailangan po nila [parents] lumabas-labas so sinasakto ko po na ‘pag lumabas sila, doon na po ako patagong nag-sho-shoot.”
When his parents found out about his content, Esnyr breathed a sigh of relief as they have been very supportive since then.
The content creator-turned-actor shared how a simple act of support from his father made a huge impact on his craft.
“Actually, nagulat nga po ako ng pinost po ako ng papa ko na naka-long hair po ako,” he recalled. “Yun pa po ‘yung moment na the day before ako lumipad dito sa Manila kasi kinuha na po ako ng ABS-CBN. ‘Yun po ang first and last post niya po sa akin before po ako pumasok ng PBB.”
“Nakatulong po talaga siya sa craft ko sa pagiging content creator ko kasi wala na akong tinatago kumbaga spread my wings na ako at mas nailalabas ko na po ang creativity ko,” he emphasized.
For Esnyr, it’s only the acceptance and support of his parents that truly matter.
“Sobrang laking impact po ang nagawa ng pagpost niya [father] po sa akin kasi wala na po akong kinakatakutan kumbaga. Kasi pag tanggap na po ako ng father ko, ng parents ko po, hindi na mag-ma-matter po sa akin ‘yung sasabihin ng ibang tao,” he remarked.
Esnyr raised the rainbow flag during his time inside the PBB house, finishing in the third spot alongside his duo partner, Charlie Fleming.