Pediatrician and influencer Dr. Richard Mata defended Melai Cantiveros from the criticism she received after her funny acts during the recent Asia Artist Award held in the country.

It can be recalled that internet celebrity Xian Gaza called out Melai for acting funny too much during the event, saying that she might leave a bad impression on other celebrities in the Philippines.

“Ang humor at pagiging joker ay mayroong limitasyon at inilalagay sa lugar. Kapag kasi nasobrahan sa maling venue ay magmumukhang t*nga tapos iisipin ng ibang lahi ang mga artistang Pinoy at aanga-anga at walang ka-class class,” he said.

However, Dr. Richard believed that Melai would become the reason for other celebrities to be generalized by the world.

“Ok lang si Melai comedyante naman. Di naman maiisip ng Korea na ganun ang lahat ng Pinoy dahil andun naman si Kath at Dan na saksakan ng pogi at maganda at pormal. At SB19,BEN & BEN,and HORIZON. So basically we Filipinos are well represented by all of them,” he said.

“Lahat tayo ay may classmate na Melai. Yung kahit anong gagawin niyang seryoso sa report niya ay mas lalong nakakatawa. Sa mga Melai dyan, we accept you as you are,” he added.

Melai went viral on social media and even in South Korea for her acts and some K-celebrities were trying to imitate some of the expression of the Filipina actress.

Veteran columnist Cristy Fermin urged Richard Gutierrez to clear his name over circulating rumors about his treatment of his partner, Sarah Lahbati.

In her online program, Cristy mentioned a certain blind item about an actress who suffered at the hands of her celebrity partner.

“Ilang panahon na po naming nababasa ‘yung kuwento tungkol sa isang mag-asawa na nagkasakitan sa harap ng kanilang mga anak. Na diumano ‘yung babae ay tumakbo po sa bahay ng mag-asawang artista na kasama sa village,” she said.

“Nung masaktan daw ‘yung babae, black and blue daw dahil ano daw e, binugbog daw nung asawa, tumakbo doon sa bahay ng mag-asawa. Bind item (pero) halatang-halata naman sila ‘yung tinutukoy,” she added.

According to Cristy, some netizens guessed that the blind item referred to Richard, so she wanted the actor to speak about it.

“Dapat po siguro ay kailangan maliwanagan po natin ito. Totoo ba na nananakit itong si Richard Gutierrez? Totoo ba na kaya umuwi ang mga magulang ni Sarah Lahbati mula sa Switzerland dito sa Pilipinas, humingi ng saklolo ‘yung anak?” she stated.

Cristy also revealed the possible legal move being planned by the Gutierrez family to counter Sarah’s camp by planning to file charges against the actress.

Kapamilya actress Barbie Forteza addressed the breakup rumors between her and long-time partner Jak Roberto.

During an episode of Marites University, one of the hosts, Rose Garcia, revealed her short interview with Barbie during the red carpet premiere of the movie “Firefly.”

She asked Barbie about the circulating rumors about her relationship problem with Jak after the actor was seen with Viva actress Ava Mendez.

It can be recalled that there was also a current trend in which some celebrity couples were announcing their separation this year.

However, Barbie said she was confident she would not have the same fate as other celebrity couples.

“Tinanong siya sa gitna ng mga hiwalayang isyu ngayon, itong si Barbie nga at si Jak ay nanatiling matatag. Solid ‘di ba. Kahit na alam nating si Barbie ay pinapareha kay David [Licauco],” Rose said.

“Pero pinapakita talaga nila na ‘solid kami in real life’. So, tinanong siya, ‘anong masasabi mo doon?’ Kumbaga, ‘kayo ba gaano kayo ka-secure?’ Tapos sinabi ni Barbie na hindi kami magagaya sa mga naghihiwalay,” she added.

Meanwhile, netizens were happy to hear that Jak and Barbie’s relationship was going strong despite the intensified shipping between the actress and her current love team, David.

Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc. believed Eat Bulaga was no longer associated with Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon.

In an interview, Atty. Maggie Abraham-Garduque said on December 13 that Eat Bulaga was connected to TAPE Inc. and to current hosts.

“Ito pong pangalan [Eat Bulaga!] na ito ay sa TAPE Inc. sa napakahabang panahon. Yung association po ng pangalan is hindi po masasabi kung ngayon, dahil ngayon nga po may mga bago nang hosts. In fact, pag nakita nyo po si Yorme, nakita nyo po si Paolo Contis, Eat Bulaga! na rin ang naiisip nila,” the lawyer said.

She also said that the public already accepted the new hosts.

“Associated na rin naman po at tinanggap na ng taumbayan na ang Eat Bulaga! na may mga bagong hosts. Na pag naiisip nila ang Eat Bulaga!, hindi na TVJ ang iniiisip nila… sina Paolo Contis na, sina Yorme, and yun po yung nakikita namin. Kaya tinatangkilik siya ng mga manoood, and even the advertisers,” she stated.

“Kasi, kung hindi naman po tatangkilikin ng mga manonood, hindi rin naman po ang mga advertisers makipag-transact sa TAPE Inc,” she added.

As of writing, TVJ has yet to give any response to the statement made by the lawyer.

Television host and singer Karylle went viral on social media after several netizens noticed her absence during the guesting of her ex-boyfriend Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera on It’s Showtime.

On December 16, Dingdong and Marian appeared on It’s Showtime to promote their comeback film “Rewind” under Star Cinema.

Aside from DongYan’s guesting, netizens also talked about Karylle as her relationship with Dingdong didn’t end well.

However, there might be a reason for Karylle why she was absence during the said episode.

“Woke up sick so I’ll be missing work for a couple of days! Stay healthy everyone,” she said.

It can be recalled that in 2008, Karylle disclosed that she ended her relationship with Dingdong amid the rumors that the actor was already close to his co-star in Marimar, Marian Rivera.

“Well, for me there were many reasons that can’t be summed up in just one statement. It’s hard to trivialize things na, you know, this is the only reason and it’s up to the people to figure it out, na bahala na kayong intindihin. Maraming rason kasi, eh. You know, even if we keep on explaining or making kuwento, it’s only the two of us who know everything. People won’t get the whole story,” she said.

When she was asked if Dingdong cheated on her, she only shared a short statement.

“I trusted him,” she stated.

Xian Gaza was unhappy with Melai Cantiveros’ acts during the Asia Artist Awards 2023.

In his Facebook post, Xian said that Melai’s extra-jolly personality during the Awarding ceremony should have been limited as it would only give a bad impression to Filipinos.

According to Xian, other nationalities watched the show, and they might have thought that all Filipinos were acting like Melai.

“Ang humor at pagiging joker ay mayroong limitasyon at inilalagay sa lugar. Kapag kasi nasobrahan sa maling venue ay magmumukhang t*nga tapos iisipin ng ibang lahi ang mga artistang Pinoy at aanga-anga at walang ka-class class,” he said.

It can be recalled that Melai captured the attention of internet users after she didn’t hide her personality during the event.

She also won the Best Actor during the Asia Artist Awards.

“If someone (questions) why I have (an) award, don’t worry. I question too. I just receive an award all my life from my mother and father when they are angry to me. Tonight, my heart is kuan. I think it’s because God moves in mysterious ways,” she said.

Meanwhile, several netizens defended Melai, including Dr. Richard Mata, who said that Melai would not affect the image of Filipino artists.

“Ok lang si Melai comedyante naman. Di naman maiisip ng Korea na ganun ang lahat ng Pinoy dahil andun naman si Kath at Dan na saksakan ng pogi at maganda at pormal. At SB19,BEN & BEN,and HORIZON. So basically we Filipinos are well represented by all of them,” he said.

Talent manager and showbiz reporter Ogie Diaz said that TV host Miles Ocampo was unhappy after she saw a viral video showing her ex-boyfriend, Elijah Canlas, and Andrea Brillantes having sweet moments together.

In his online show, Ogie said that Andrea knew about Miles’ reaction who reportedly threw her phone after she watched the video.

“Hindi ko lang alam kung paanong nakarating kay Andrea na alam o napanood ni Miles yung video na nagsusubuan sila ni Elijah,” he said.

“‘Ate, sorry. Nakakahiya. Sa ganyan pa nakarating sa iyo yong tungkol sa amin. Sana maka-usap kita,’” Ogie while quoting the text made by Andrea to Miles.

It can be recalled that Elijah confirmed that he already ended his relationship with Miles last month.

“We went through a rough patch recently mainly because we are going through our own stuff,” Elijah said.

“We are okay, we are not mad at each other. I’m always gonna have love for her and support her with what she does but right now we are taking our time figuring things out,” he added.

Andrea was blamed by some netizens for the breakup between Elijah and Miles.

Aside from Elijah, Andrea was also being linked to Daniel Padilla who also just recently ended his relationship with Kathryn Bernardo.

Daniel Padilla received a negative reaction from the fans during his speech at the Asia Artist Awards 2023.

In a video uploaded by a netizen, it can be heard that after Daniel’s speech, thanking the audience and AAA for the award he received together with Kathryn Bernardo, several fans booed and called him a cheater while leaving the stage.

“Thank you AAA. Everyone, maraming salamat sa inyo, enjoy the night and good night,” Daniel said.

Meanwhile, Kathryn received cheers from the fans while delivering her speech.

“Hello guys, maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. I hope you’re having a great time. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kathryn Bernardo and I am a Filipina actress,” she said.

“Wow, what an honor to be recognized tonight with these beautiful and talented people. Thank you so much AAA for this Fabulous Award. This is my first time attending this and nakakaproud na bilang Pilipino, tayo yung naghohost ng ganitong event,” she added.

It can be recalled that Daniel was accused of secretly meeting Andrea Brillantes while having a relationship with Kathryn.

Several showbiz reporters suspected that Daniel’s alleged affair with Andrea was the reason why Kathryn left him.

Paolo Contis couldn’t hide his gratefulness to the officials of Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc. for their continuous trust in him.

In his statement, Paolo said he was only ignoring the misinformation and criticism thrown against him.

However, Paolo believed it was more important to look upon the positive side of the situation, saying that he remained an Eat Bulaga host despite the controversies surrounding him.

“Hindi naman talaga mawawala ang mga bashing and fake news lalo na sa ganitongn panahon. For now, we are very thankful na tuloy-tuloy ang work naming mga host. Masaya ako sa tiwalang binibigay sa akin ng cast, staff, lalo na ang Jalosjos family,” said Paolo.

“Tuloy lang kami sa pagbigay ng tulong at saya,” he added.

It can be recalled that Paolo was receiving criticism and swipes from E.A.T host Joey de Leon after he tried to defend TAPE’s stance over the decision of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).

IPOPHL, on December 5, removed the trademark ownership of TAPE over Eat Bulaga branding, but Paolo insisted that the decision was not yet final.

However, several days after he made the statement, IPOPHL rejected the appeal of TAPE, putting Paolo in an awkward situation.

Several netizens expressed concern after they watched an interview with megastar Sharon Cuneta.

On December 12, Sharon was granted an interview invitation from Luis Manzano and admitted that while she was grateful for almost all she had achieved in life, she was still having difficulties when it came to her love life.

According to her, she still had some struggles with her marriage with Kiko Pangilinan due to their contradictory priorities.

“Mayroong parehong matinong tao, parehong mabait, parehong disente, na hindi nakikita ng tao ‘yung nangyayari inside the bedroom or inside their house ‘pag sila na lang… So, dalawang matinong tao na hindi lang magkasundo kailangang maghiwalay. Kasi isa lang ang buhay, e,” she said.

Separation rumors between the two were fueled when Sharon posted about leaving someone else.

“I’m loyal. I’ll never leave you for someone else. I’ll only leave you for myself. For my peace, my sanity, my respect, my dignity,” she stated.

Some netizens speculated that there was a problem between the two that needed to be addressed.

“So hiwalay na sila ni Kiko? Mahirap din kasi ipilit ang isang bagay lalo sa marriage na magstay pa kau sa iisang bahay pero alam niyo/mo sa sarili mo na hindi na kayo okay,” a netizen said.

As of writing, Sharon has yet to give any response to the rumors.