Actress Cristine Reyes finally explained her side on the controversy involving her and Vivian Velez, her co-star in the ABS-CBN series “Tubig at Langis”.
Velez has resigned from the show allegedly due to Reyes’ attitude on the set.
In a post on Sunday, Velez said that she wants to file her “immediate irrevocable resignation” from the ABS-CBN show “Tubig at Langis.”
“With much trepidation, I would like to tender my immediate irrevocable resignation, effective immediately, from the show, ‘Tubig at Langis.’ I have never been so upset and humiliated by an actress in my entire career spanning four decades!” she said.
In a statement sent to ABS-CBN News, Reyes narrated her version of the incident.
“Last Thursday (March 3), the Executive Producer asked me if Ms. Vivian can share the dressing room with me because her assigned area was not ready to be occupied yet. I, of course, agreed. I was fine sharing a room with any of my co-stars for as long as we have mutual respect. I would not have agreed with production if I had any ill feelings towards Ms. Vivian,” she said.
Things began to go sour, according to Reyes, after she and her staff came from shooting a movie.
The actress claimed that Velez “made it difficult” for them to get some rest in their shared room because she was making a lot of noise.
“I went out to get some air and went to where the common area for artists and production was. The EP [Executive Producer] asked me why I was there. I said it was difficult to sleep with Ms. Vivian inside the room. The EP told me not to worry because Ms. Vivian’s dressing room will soon be ready.”
Reyes continued: “Some time passed and finally, the dressing room of Ms. Vivian was ready. From what I understand, she was first notified by the production assistants and upon being notified, she threw a fit, blaming me for the transfer. The EP immediately tried to pacify her but she stood her ground and continued shouting, telling everyone that I was the one booting her out of the room.”
“It was then I found out that the room assigned to me weeks back after the tent and the mosquito incident used to be hers. I was not privy to this and so I fully understood what she was going through,” she said. “I then opted to just transfer and move out from the room assigned to me to ease tensions.”
After the incident, Reyes said she wanted to talk to Velez to “make it clear that I had nothing to do with the request for her to transfer rooms.”
“To be very clear about it, I never requested anyone at any point for Ms. Vivian to be transferred rooms,” she stressed. “In fact, I gladly welcomed production’s request for her to share a room with me while her room was still unavailable. And despite the inconvenience I encountered while she was around, I had no intentions whatsoever of booting her out.”
Reyes said her EP told her that it would be impossible to have a dialogue with Velez at that time “because her emotions were still so high.”
“I did not want to push it too and, out of frustration and stress, I cried to my co-star Zanjoe Marudo,” she said.
Goodbye
Reyes said the issue between her and Velez was not resolved, but they nevertheless continued shooting scenes for “Tubig at Langis”.
“The EP turned to me and said, and I quote, ‘Konting tiis na lang, AA. Sa Monday kakausapin na siya ng management para sa pagkawala niya sa show,’” she said.
“Still I would’ve appreciated a resolution better because I had nothing to do with the issue of Ms. Vivian’s source of anger. It was the production staff that was trying to transfer her and not me,” she explained. “I, in fact, made the initiative to be the one to transfer dressing rooms that day to stop the issue then.”
Reyes went on to explain why she was singing Avril Lavigne’s “Goodbye” on the set, as mentioned by Velez.
“I was so stressed that when it was finally time for me to do a scene where Ms. Vivian will be present, I was trying to motivate myself by just singing Avril Lavigne’s ‘Goodbye’ song before doing my scene,” she said.
“It was, of course, subliminal because of my knowledge of her departure from the show. It was short of saying to myself precisely what the EP informed me earlier,” she said. “More than anything, it was my way of dealing with the situation to get the job done.”
Apologies
Reyes said Velez and her makeup artist charged toward her while she was singing.
“!’ I got rattled at this point and I just answered her in a mild manner, ‘Kumakanta lang naman ako, masama ba kumanta?’” she said.
“And it was at this point that Zanjoe pulled me away from the scene because he was alarmed with the way both Ms. Vivian and her makeup artist were charging toward me.”
While she reiterated that she does not have any ill feelings toward Velez, Reyes apologized over the incident.
“I am sorry that some gaps in the communication between the production staff, Ms. Vivian and myself escalated some issues,” she said. “I reiterate that I wanted them resolved soonest for everyone’s peace of mind.”
“I am also sorry that emotions got so heightened that some of my actions were misconstrued for rudeness when they were, more than anything else, my own way of coping with the stressful working conditions on this set in this particular instance. But I sincerely apologize if I hurt Ms. Vivian or anybody else.”
Reyes ended by saying that she has high regard for “senior artists who have paved the way for stars like me in the industry.”
Production Team explains
Meanwhile, the production team of “Tubig at Langis” released a statement on Tuesday following the resignation of Vivian Velez from the series allegedly due to the rudeness of its lead star, Cristine Reyes.
In the statement, the production team vouched for Reyes’ professionalism on the set of “Tubig at Langis,” denying that the actress asked Velez to leave her dressing room.
“Narinig na ng karamihan ang panig ni Vivian ngunit may isang punto lang na may kaugnayan sa nangyari sa dressing room ang nais linawin ng programa.
“Hindi totoong pinaalis ni Cristine si Vivian sa dressing room. Nagkaroon lamang ng miscommunication at inaako ng production team ang responsibilidad nito. Sa katunayan, walang problema ang staff sa work ethics ni Cristine at maayos itong nakikisama sa lahat ng katrabaho niya,” the production team said.
The production team of “Tubig at Langis” also expressed regret over the incident, saying it has already reached out to both Reyes and Velez.
Meanwhile, viewers were assured that the cast and crew of “Tubig at Langis” will work even harder to continue providing an entertaining and meaningful show.
“Naipaliwanag na namin an gaming panig sa dalawang aktres at umaasa kaming matapos na ang isyu sa maayos at magandang paraan.”
Source: ABS-CBN News