Marlou Salcedo Arizala (born May 11, 1998), also known as Xander Ford, is a Filipino social media personality.

Background

Arizala was a member of the boy band Hasht5, a boy band parody whose videos became popular in 2015. After leaving Hasht5 to pursue a solo career, he underwent plastic surgery, changing his name to "Xander Ford". His transformation received widespread coverage online. Prior to that, the band Hasht5 experienced

online bullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased us ...

"because of their physical appearance". Arizala was first noticed after a viral video of himself lipsyncing as "papogi". On October 1, 2017, he made his television appearance with a new look on ''

Rated K ''Rated Korina'', formerly ''Rated K'', is a Philippine television news magazine show broadcast by ABS-CBN, TV5 and Kapamilya Channel. Hosted by Korina Sanchez, it aired on the network's Sunday evening line-up from May 30, 2004 to May 3, 202 ...

'' which was met by favorable support. Ford also made his television appearance, portraying himself on

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

program ''

Home Sweetie Home ''Home Sweetie Home'' is a Philippine television situational comedy series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Edgar Mortiz, it stars Toni Gonzaga and John Lloyd Cruz. It aired on the network's Yes Weekend! line up from January 5, 2014 to March ...

''. On July 17, 2020, through his Instagram stories, Arizala came out as

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

Controversies

In the second week of October 2017, an apparent Ford mocked actress

Kathryn Bernardo Kathryn Chandria Manuel Bernardo (born March 26, 1996) is a Filipino actress. She began her career as a child actress, portraying young versions of lead characters in series such as '' It Might Be You'' (2003) and '' Endless Love'' (2010). She ...

over her

bow-leggedness Genu varum (also called bow-leggedness, bandiness, bandy-leg, and tibia vara) is a varus deformity marked by (outward) bowing at the knee, which means that the lower leg is angled inward ( medially) in relation to the thigh's axis, giving the ...

() throughout a video clip. However, Star Image Artist Management, through its Facebook account, denied that the man in the video was Xander. The management said that the man was possibly impersonating Ford's voice in order to defame him. They also said that any personality with such an attitude will not be tolerated. Bernardo expressed her dismay about cyberbullying on her Instagram account.

Khalil Ramos Khalil Joseph Nepomuceno Ramos (; born January 22, 1996) is a Filipino actor and singer. He is currently an exclusive actor of GMA Network. In July 2011, Ramos won second place on ''Pilipinas Got Talent'', a reality talent show in ABS-CBN and ...

, one of Bernardo's closest friends and her tandem

Daniel Padilla Daniel John Elago Ford (born April 26, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Padilla, is a Filipino actor and singer. He is a recipient of multiple accolades across television, film, and music, including the FAMAS Award for Best Actor and PMP ...

, said that the supposed Ford "should apologize". Other celebrities, including

Karla Estrada Carla Elago Ford (born November 21, 1974), better known as Karla Estrada (), is a Filipino actress, singer, television host, and comedian. She is best known for hosting the talk shows ''Magandang Buhay'' and '' Face 2 Face'' for ABS-CBN and ...

Sofia Andres Sofia Louise Alejandre Andres (born August 24, 1998) is a Filipino actress. After appearing in several television commercials as a child, she first appeared as an actress at age 14 in the hit series, ''Princess and I''. She has since gained b ...

, and

Gretchen Ho Gretchen Ong Ho (; born April 19, 1990) is a Filipino broadcaster, television presenter and former volleyball player. She played collegiate volleyball for the Ateneo Lady Eagles from 2008 to 2013, where she was a member of the "fab five" who ...

, expressed their disappointment on their Twitter accounts. Ford apologized and he also said that it was his former personality, mocking Bernardo. Despite his admittance, he received several negative messages. On October 30, 2017, Arizala filed a cyberbullying complaint against two individuals behind a video of him to the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...

. On November 24, 2017, Star Image reported that Xander Ford went missing. According to the talent agency, he was last seen in

General Trias General Trias (), officially the City of General Trias (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...

, Cavite on November 23. The next day, Ford shared a Facebook video where he denied the reports of his alleged disappearance. He explained that he was taking a break from work and social media. On April 23, 2019, Star Image Artist Management announced that they would suspend Arizala and decided to "take back" the Xander Ford name due to his unprofessional behavior. Arizala reunited with Hasht5 in late May 2019. "I think we are ready to perform," he indicated in the caption of a photo on social media. On June 18, 2020, Arizala was accused of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

and physical abuse by his ex-girlfriend, Ysah Cabrejas. Arizala was arrested on December 22, 2020 in

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

on a

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

complaint filed by his former girlfriend. The next day, Arizala was released from jail after his agency Star Image Artist Management posted bail of P18,000. In October 2021, he said that his former girlfriend decided not to pursue the case against him after a settlement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Xander 1998 births Living people ABS-CBN people Filipino male television actors Filipino YouTubers People from Cavite Bisexual male actors Filipino LGBTQ actors Filipino bisexual men Filipino LGBTQ singers Bisexual male musicians Bisexual singers