Nothing wrong with Mark Herras earning honest money

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THAT GMA's "Starstruck" alumnus Mark Herras danced his night away at a gay bar seems to have unleashed a storm in a teacup. Plain and simple — big deal. To borrow from Shakespeare's comedy: much ado about nothing.

Mark has earned the moniker of 'Kilabot (Terror) ng Dance Floor.' Not all actors are good dancers — proudly, this is Mark's edge over the ones who came after his batch.

Of late, showbiz assignments come few and far between for Mark. This should not be the case for Mark who's already raising a family — in weeks to come, he'll be a father of two.

This is where Mark had to find means to augment his financial condition, most especially when he no longer has a manager whose job is to look for jobs for him.

The answer to Mark's search to eke out a living came via an offer to perform at a gay bar.

Despite the harsh comments, Mark Herras does not regret dancing hip-hop at a gay bar. PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM/HERRASMARKANGELOOFFICIAL

The familiar habitues know exactly what to expect at the night spot: good-looking men who gyrate in their skimpy wear called macho dancers. They do modeling and stripteasing to the delight of the patrons.

In most times, customers request that they be joined by the macho dancer at their reserved table who catches their fancy.

The more drinks consumed, the more moolah the lucky macho dancer brings home for a night's work. The "extra" stuff that he does all the more translates to dough.

Still, it's nowhere beyond the bounds of decency or else the establishment gets raided, worse, padlocked.

To set the record straight, Mark isn't guilty of any of these. His forte was — and still is — modern dance, not macho dancing. There was no stripping either.

Mark even confessed to knowing a few faces among the macho dancers — as they were products of then-popular dance groups.

So, what exactly did Mark do on stage? "Hiphop! It's the usual dance number that I do when I get invited to town fiestas," he shared.

How about joining the customer's table? "Nothing like that happened," Mark pointed out.

Given the harsh comments about dancing at a gay bar, does Mark regret having grabbed the offer?

"Honestly, I don't! For one, I don't see anything wrong with it! As I've said, it wasn't macho dancing that I did. I didn't strip my clothes off either, so what's the big deal?" Mark explained.

In fact, what he considers as of little, if no significance at all is other people's misjudgment of him.

Mark insists: "Why do some people look down on me just because I danced at a gay bar? It's an honest to goodness job. Now if they keep saying it's not, I couldn't care less."

Footnote: Mark performed at the Apollo bar on Roxas Blvd. on January 10 and 31. His second gig coincided with a male search interspersed with numbers by drag queens.

The actor was said to have been paid a hefty P300,000 the first time — a sum he couldn't possibly be richer by from his showbiz work.

Amid the furor, Mark has gained an ally in former Comelec chief Rowena Guanzon who said: "So what if Mark danced at a gay bar? It's honest money! Thieves in government, they're who you're supposed to pounce on!"