Madam Secretary season 3: Philippine government upset with depiction of President

This coming Sunday, a new episode of Madam Secretary is airing entitled “Break in Diplomacy,” and one of the things that will be memorable about it right away is the show’s depiction of the Philippine President. This is someone who comes on to Elizabeth McCord, and as a result of that, she strikes him across the face. She reacts as any reasonable person would asked when in that situation, but it’s a little different with a world leader.

As a result of this situation, we imagine that there will be a good bit of story all about trying to unravel this situation in some way.

What we also know right now is that the show itself may have a situation of its own to unravel, after the Philippine Government is rather upset over the episode, and a character who may have at least a thing or two in common with their own President Duerte. That is a man who stirred up controversy of his own, but for negative comments towards then-President Barack Obama.)

In a statement, the Philippine embassy said the following about the episode and what it presents:

“While Madam Secretary is a work of fiction, it tracks and mirrors current events. It is, therefore, inevitable that its depiction of world leaders will have an impact on how its audience views the real personages and the countries they represent … [The character of the president] denigrates that way our nation navigates foreign affairs [and] tarnishes the Philippines’ longstanding advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality.”

It’s perfectly understandable why the country would be upset; it would be the same if the country made a show about a Filipino diplomat who was forced into contact with a sexually-aggressive, offensive American President. Nobody wants their politics generalized by one person, especially when dealing with something this serious.

In the end, though, we feel like the audience of this show is intelligent enough to separate reality from fiction, and they will be able to properly determine that nothing on this show is real. Therefore, it’s unreasonable to think that the actions of a fake person in power means that every politician in the Philippines is out to pray upon female U.S. cabinet members.

You can read more about this episode by heading over here.

Do you think that the Philippine Government has a right to be upset over this story? Be sure to share in the attached comments! (Photo: CBS.)