A lot of controversies in Philippine showbiz fueled heated debates and dominated headlines this year. From elebrated Olympic athlete's family rift and the most talked-about showbiz scandal of the year, here are some of the the viral stories that captured the attention of netizens this year.<\/p>\r\r Famas allegedly snubbing Eva Darren<\/strong><\/p>\r\r
The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (Famas) has issued a public apology after veteran actress Eva Darren was allegedly snubbed during the awards ceremony held May 26.<\/p>\r\r Darren, who was supposed to present an award on stage, did not get the opportunity to do so which angered her son, Fernando de la Pena.<\/p>\r\r In a lengthy Facebook post, De la Pena expressed his frustrations saying that his mother \u2014 having performed on the big screen and television for more than five decades \u2014 typically avoids social events but had been excited about the invitation to the Famas awards night.<\/p>\r\r He recounted how Darren even bought a new dress, heels, and paid for professional hair and makeup to make the night special, spending P5,000 per plate for herself and three of her grandchildren.<\/p>\r\r The excitement, however, turned to disappointment when Darren was not called on stage at the scheduled time. Instead, Cruz presented the award with a newbie singer, leaving Darren without an explanation.<\/p>\r\r He furthered that what Famas did to his mother was \"rude, disrespectful, unethical and unprofessional.\"<\/p>\r\r \"You would think and assume that a \"prestigious award-giving body\" who had been doing the same thing every year, over and over without fail, would have mastered their craft after 72 years. But no, not this entity. To all of you people behind FAMAS, you cannot do this to an icon of Philippine Cinema!,\" said Cruz.<\/p>\r\r In response to the incident, Famas issued a statement expressing regret over the mishap. The organization acknowledged the error and apologized for the \"negligence on the part of the team.\"<\/p>\r\r \"Considering that we were running a live show, and due to myriads of people present in last night's festivities, the production team was not able to locate Ms. Darren. This was indeed a setback in the live show and a negligence on the part of the team,\" the statement read.<\/p>\r\r Famas then promised to make amends and suggested a personal visit from the Famas Board to honor Darren, hoping to rebuild trust and show their appreciation for her contributions to Philippine cinema.<\/p>\r\r Darren received Famas Awards Best Supporting Actress Award in 1969 for her role in the movie \"Ang Pulubi (The Beggar).\" She is also best known for the movie \"Ligaya Ang Itawag Mo Sa Akin (1997),\" ABS-CBN's TV series \"Pangako Sa 'Yo\" (2000) and \"Sineserye Presents: Patayin Sa Sindak si Barbara\" (2008).<\/p>\r\r Carlos Yulo's family feud<\/strong><\/p>\r\r Carlos Yulo, two-time gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has been embroiled in a public family dispute which primarily involves his mother, Angelica. The rift, which even overshadowed Yulo's historic Olympic victories, stemmed due to allegations of financial mismanagement and familial disagreements over his relationship with girlfriend, Chloe San Jose.<\/p>\r\r In a TikTok video released on August 6, Yulo accused his mother of misappropriating his prize money from previous competitions. He claimed that she had access to his bank accounts and had been withdrawing funds without his consent.<\/p>\r\r Yulo stated, \"When I finally got control of that bank account, I found out she had been draining it. I have the bank statements showing the withdrawals she made.\"<\/p>\r\r In response, his mother admitted to transferring the money but defended her actions by expressing concern for her son's future financial stability.<\/p>\r\r She explained, \"As a mother, I felt that my child might run out of money in the future. So, what I did was deposit it under my name... Then, I held on to it and turned it into a bond for a credit card.\"<\/p>\r\r The tension was further intensified by the family's disapproval of his girlfriend wherein Yulo revealed that his mother judged San Jose based on her appearance and upbringing, which differed from traditional Filipino norms.<\/p>\r\r Angelica issued a public apology during a press conference on August 7 and expressed regret for any distress caused. The Olympic athlete, in turn, called for the matter to be kept private, emphasizing the need to focus on his athletic achievements and the hard work of Filipino athletes.<\/p>\r\r Anthony Jennings cheating issue with Maris Racal<\/strong><\/p>\r\r Probably the biggest scandal in Philippine showbiz this year is that of actor Anthony Jennings' infidelity to his ex-girlfriend of seven years, Jamela Villanueva.<\/p>\r\r Villanueva took to social media on Dec. 3 posting screenshots of intimate conversations between Jennings and his onscreen partner, Maris Racal. She alleged that the affair began in June before a brand event where both actors were revealed as ambassadors.<\/p>\r\r In one instance, Villanueva recounted that Jennings, under the pretense of work commitments, was actually spending time with Racal. She confronted Jennings about his whereabouts, leading to his admission of being with Racal.<\/p>\r\r The scandal sparked online debate, with discussions extending to legal concerns regarding the privacy of the individuals involved.<\/p>\r\r The actress then addressed the allegations by issuing a public apology to Villanueva and her supporters. She claimed that Jennings had misled her into believing he was single. She further expressed regret for her involvement and the pain it caused.<\/p>\r\r \"He would be very sweet to me, he would be such a gentleman to me, he would say things to me, he would kiss me on the set in front of other people, he would tell other people who are close to me that he was single, so I was confident to act a certain way around him on the set because in the eyes of the people there, we were both single,\" Racal shared.<\/p>\r\r \"To the public, I am sorry that you got to see that very intimate side of me. That's just what I am when it comes to giving love. It was supposed to be a private, intimate thing,\" she added.<\/p>\r\r Jennings also released a statement, apologizing to both Villanueva and Racal.<\/p>\r\r \"Sa lahat ho ng mga nangyari nung nakaraang araw, sa lahat ho ng mga taong nasaktan ko, especially po si Maris tsaka si Jam, humihingi ho ako ng tawad sa dalawang babae and sa lahat po ng mga nadamay ko rin po. 'Yun lamang po, sorry po ulit (To everyone affected by what happened in the past few days, to everyone I've hurt, especially Maris and Jam, I'm asking for forgiveness from the two women and everyone else who got involved. That's all, I'm sorry again),\" he said.<\/p>\r\r Denise Julia vs BJ Pascual<\/strong><\/p>\r\r Singer Denise Julia and celebrity photographer BJ Pascual went viral on social media after the latter accused Julia of being difficult to work with during a photo shoot.<\/p>\r\r In a podcast interview with influencer Killa Kush, Pascual described the experience as \"one of the worst\" in his career after canceling a shoot he spent money with due to scheduling and budget conflicts.<\/p>\r\r Julia, however, was quick to hit back, sharing screenshots of conversations between their respective teams. She clarified that they had been upfront about the budget for the music video, photo shoot, album art, trailer, and press photos from the beginning. Julia also mentioned that she had rescheduled the entire release date to accommodate Pascual's availability and ensure his time was respected.<\/p>\r\r In response, Pascual shared his own set of screenshots, revealing that they had managed to reduce the shoot's cost to P371,000. However, he claimed that Julia's team still felt unprepared, citing their inability to secure a glam team.<\/p>\r\r Pascual further explained that he and Julia had initially agreed to meet in person to discuss the issue, but tensions have since escalated. Julia is now reportedly preparing a defamation lawsuit against both Pascual and Killa Kush.<\/p>","article_custom_fields":"{\"\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_keywords\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_description\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_title\":[\"\"],\"sponsored_flag\":[\"\"],\"offer_flag\":[\"off\"],\"featured_article_flag\":[\"\"],\"drupal_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":null,\\\"properties\\\":{\\\"PUBLISHED\\\":0,\\\"PROMOTED\\\":0,\\\"STICKY\\\":0},\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"wp_custom_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"article_tags\":[\"\"],\"show_image\":[\"off\"],\"Disable_Ad\":[\"off\"],\"disable_player\":[\"off\"],\"column\":[\"\"],\"kicker\":[\"\"],\"edel\":[\"\"],\"delu\":[\"\"],\"delt\":[\"Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.\"],\"premium\":[\"off\"],\"Redirect_URL\":[\"\"],\"Registration_required\":[\"off\"],\"background_image\":[\"off\"],\"user_needs\":[\"\"],\"page_number\":\"24\",\"initial_publication\":\"The Manila Times\",\"date_created\":\"2024-12-29 01:18:19\",\"date_modified\":\"2024-12-29 01:18:18\",\"last_modified_user\":\"Dhon Mandria\",\"section_color\":\"#120efb\",\"target_page\":\"24\",\"cxense_metatags\":null}","cms_type":"live","author_id":1826,"section_id":8,"seo_meta_keywords":"Viral,controversies","seo_meta_description":"","seo_meta_title":"Viral controversies","publish_time":"2024-12-29 00:08:00","related_articles_ids":"","article_tags":"","sub_section_id":35,"visit_count":90,"sponsored_flag":0,"offer_flag":0,"featured_article_flag":0,"media_gallery_flag":0,"video_gallery_flag":0,"highlight_flag":0,"top_story_flag":0,"is_updated":0,"is_old_article":0,"old_article_id":0,"article_byline":"Iza Iglesias","ts":"2024-12-31 19:37:45","last_edited":"2024-12-29 01:18:18","alt_publish_time":"2024-12-29 01:18:24","image_path":"{\\\"image_path\\\":\\\"manilatimes\\\\\/uploads\\\\\/images\\\\\/2024\\\\\/12\\\\\/29\\\\\/502179.jpg\\\",\\\"cms_type\\\":\\\"live\\\",\\\"small_image\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"is_updated\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"image_cropping\\\":\\\"{\\\\\\\"original_image\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\"image_original_width\\\\\\\":1440,\\\\\\\"image_original_height\\\\\\\":960,\\\\\\\"icd_image_type\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"original_image\\\\\\\"},\\\\\\\"main_image\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\"image_main_width\\\\\\\":1200,\\\\\\\"image_main_height\\\\\\\":799,\\\\\\\"icd_image_type\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"main_image\\\\\\\"}}\\\",\\\"is_copied\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"media_type\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"image_caption\\\":\\\"Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings INSTAGRAM PHOTO\\\\\/MARIESTELLER\\\",\\\"image_alt_text\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"image_count\\\":6}","author_name":"Iza Iglesias","section_name":"The Sunday Times","sub_section_name":"Cover Story","slide_show":0,"breaking_news":0,"visit_count_update_date":"2024-12-31 19:37:45","old_cms_article_id":null,"permalink":"2024\/12\/29\/the-sunday-times\/cover-story\/viral-controversies\/2028161","show_image_in_thumb":0,"api_status":2,"a_custom_data":"{\"exclude_from_gallery\":null,\"lead_image_id\":null}","publication_id":2,"max_publish_time":"2024-12-29 01:18:24","page_number":"24","homepage_article_flag":0,"article_shortlink":null,"cropped_image":0};
\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
Viral controversies
