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Joseph Bitangcol: 'Mr. Cool'

Even at the height of the Hero Angeles-Sandara Park controversy, the soft-spoken Joseph was his usual self, never mind if all around him, people had their own things to say about what was happening.

Recently, Joseph found himself enmeshed in another controversy, this time having to do with girlfriend Sandara Park's sexy photographs published in UNO, a local men's magazine. The photographs were not really bold or daring as most men's magazines photo spreads go since Sandy was not completely undressed in them; but apparently, they were 'revealing' enough to make showbiz tongues start wagging.

Joseph admits to being “a bit shocked and jealous” when he finally saw the published photos. He was not present at the pictorial because of a prior commitment, and in fact, only learned about it two days before it was to take place. Sandy herself told him about it, and when Joseph found out, all he did was wish her good luck. He didn't tell her not to accept the assignment.

Somehow, he understood that Sandy needed to do it for a reason.

“She wanted to prove something to herself, and also to other people,” says Joseph, who's currently busy with his role in the new ABS-CBN teleserye Crazy For You, topbilled by Luis Manzano and Toni Gonzaga.

Joseph says that one of Sandy's chief complaints is that people often think she is younger than her age. Maybe she thought doing the pictorial would make people see her as older and more mature, aside from giving her career a shot in the arm.

Whatever her reasons, Joseph says that as Sandy's boyfriend of almost two years, it is not his place to tell her what to do.

“Actually, she almost backed out of the pictorial, but in the end she decided to do it. She assured me it would be classy, and I think, based on what I've seen, the resulting photo spread was classy. I don't think there was anything wrong with it.”

What did Joseph's family have to say? “They said it was okay, besides, we're old enough, Sandy and I, to make our own career decisions,” says the young star dubbed showbiz's 'Mr. Cool' for his 'hang loose' attitude.

Would he ever agree to do sexy poses himself? This is where we see the normally unflappable Joseph get a little flustered. He blushes, then smiles and says: “I would pose, but maybe not like that,” referring to Sandy's photos. “I think the most I can do is take off my top.”