Ampalaya Anonymous: Catfights go high-tech

‘Ampalaya Anonymous,’ an exclusive clique of young female celebrities composed of Angel Locsin, Cristine Reyes, Maxene Magalona, Glaiza de Castro, Bianca King, Bubbles Paraiso and Rich Asuncion, denies accusations of bullying Pauleen Luna through their Twitter account.

Ampalaya who? Bitterness loves company, and this holds true for a group of actresses that got together last December. In a special report by Showbiz Central on May 9, the members to the prominent group ‘Ampalaya Anonymous’ were named.

"One time during the Holidays, like December, sama-sama lang kami, usap-usap about lovelife. At meron sa aming mga bitter sa love life at nagjo-joke kami na para kaming mga grupo ng ampalaya. Some of us were bitter about love and we were kidding about being a group of bitter gourd)," Bianca King said when asked how the group came to be. All having gone through break-ups, the group just clicked.

Birds of the same feather, ‘tweet’ together

The big issue: Some members of Ampalaya Anonymous have allegedly ganged up on Pauleen Luna because she was linked to showbiz newcomer JC Tiuseco who was formerly associated with Ampalaya member Maxene Magalona. To defend Maxene, Cristine Reyes, Bianca King, Glaiza de Castro and Bubbles Paraiso allegedly posted coded nasty comments against Pauleen on Twitter.

King, Paraiso and de Castro, however, collectively denied bullying Luna.

King said, "No, never. We are all very decent and educated girls na hindi kami magpapatama sa Twitter o magne-name drop or anything like that. I think mali din para mag-assume ang kung sino man."

De Castro felt Luna might have misinterpreted things. "Minsan kasi may mga hirit kami na sa amin lang, kami lang ang nagkakaintindihan. At saka may mga inside jokes kasi kami na kapag nakita ng iba baka isipin, ‘Ano ito?’ ‘Ano ang meaning behind this tweet.’"

Asuncion also claimed they were just a group of female friends while Bianca clarified they’re not a club that’s against anybody or anything – Ampalaya Anonymous was just something they talked about one night.

De Castro also stressed, "Kung sinasabi n'yong mean girls kami sa Twitter, e, tingnan n'yo na lang ang timeline namin kung talagang may pinapatamaan kami or kung sinuman yung nagsisimula ng gulo."

Angel speaks in behalf of the group

Locsin’s tweets have also become much talked-about in the news. Wanting to put an end to the issue, she tweeted Luna on May 9.

"Hi @marieluna ☺ sorry kung dito na kita kinausap sa twitter, para lang matapos na yung issue.. Ano ba yung mga parinig na sinasabi? Bakit naman kasi may ganung issue? pauline, gusto lang namin ayusin to."

Later, she followed the tweet with another message for Luna.

"Ya, nagusap na tayo sa bbm, kaya nga eh, san kaya nanggaling yung issue? di lang kasi na explain at na clarify ng maayos yung "parinig at pangbubully" issue eh. And di ko gets bakit iisipin ng iba na pinariringgan ka. Don't get me wrong ha? We're not asking you to clear anyones name. Respeto. Pero ma aappreciate namin kung masasabi mo na di talaga totoo yung issue or ma explain mo ng mabuti yung side mo, ayusin natin to."

Luna replied to Locsin’s message a bit later during the same day.

"Hi Gel! It never came from me na may pinaparinig kayo. You know the real reason and my side :)"

Locsin also defended Maxene, who supposedly rounded up her friends to pounce on Pauleen through Twitter. "Mas maganda kasi kung ang ganitong mga bagay napag-uusapan namin nang private, hindi ‘yung lumalaki dahil napag-uusapan namin sa media. Sa trabahong ito kokonti lang tayo magsisiraan pa ba tayo? Napakaliit na isyu pwedeng gawan ng paraan."

Clueless as to what caused Pauleen to flare up with her group, Angel said the matter could have been settled right away had the actress been vocal enough as to what it really was. As it is, nobody seemed to have an idea what Luna had been yakking about in Twitter.

Locsin also went to her clique’s defenses and said that as far as she knows, no one in her group has done such a thing. She asked people to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, ‘Hindi po kami perpekto pero hindi naman po kami masasamang tao’ (We’re not perfect but we’re not bad people either) and said that although most of the members of the group are her friends, she is not close to all of them. She also said that she does not know the full details about the controversy, but confessed that she and Pauleen have recently communicated and that everything is okay between them. They have never been close, she said, but they have always been civil towards each other.

Pauleen’s side. Luna, who wanted to be silent about the issue, meanwhile confirmed that something is indeed going on between her and some Ampalaya members through a text message sent to Startalk.

"I would be a hypocrite if I say there’s no issue at all. But let’s not drag the name of their group because it would be unfair to the others. I’ve kept quiet since last week because I think this issue is so degrading. If some of them are denying, okay. Besides, I’m too blessed. I’ll just leave it all to God."

Pia defends Maxene. While Maxene, who was said to have encouraged Ampalaya Anonymous to pounce on Pauleen, has initially zipped her lip on the issue, her mom and manager Pia Magalona spoke on her behalf and claimed this must be a gimmick for Pauleen and her daughter's new tv series, 'Bakit Kay Tagal ng Sandali.'

"Pauleen was in the cast as Maxene’s character’s kontrabida. And that’s when the Pauleen vs Maxene angle [came] into play. These so-called fights are actually flourishing because some people think this is the way to promote a show. Before the story con, I spoke with people in charge of production and pleaded with them to not start on the wrong foot. The shows that Maxene has been a part of have always been consistent raters because of the work everyone puts in … and not because of cheap gimmickry."

"[But] Maxx was interviewed by GMA and all the interviewers asked were questions about Pauleen, and they were really forcing her to acknowledge that there was this rift between her and Pauleen because she didn’t go up to Pauleen to say hello."

JC is clueless. Being the rumored center of the rumpus, showbiz newcomer JC Tiuseco was asked to shed some light on the issue – is he and Pauleen really an item now?

"Hindi… sobrang hindi!," he laughed, surprised that he was being linked to Luna. He further explained that he had no idea with the supposed rift between the girls, and that he wasn’t updated about it. "Nakakausap ko siya, pero hindi… walang kahit anong relationship. Bihira kaming magkausap."

Netizens react. The cyber community has also thrown mixed reactions regarding the Twitter issue. While some attacked Ampalaya Anonymous for making a scene for the sake of media and public attention, some accused Pauleen and her manager Lolit Solis for riding on the issue to get noticed. One showbiz follower ranted about the ruckus being too ‘high school’, asking the girls to grow up and stop being bullies. Another fan believed Pauleen’s party was just blowing the issue out of proportion, and said the actress just liked being associated with different men. The hullabaloo, it seems, does not end with the stars. It just starts there.

No more Ampalaya. ‘No more Ampalaya Anonymous’, said Maxene Magalona as she asked people to stop adding fuel to the fire. She stressed that being the people concerned, they were the only ones who understood the issue and that nothing good would come of people’s own interpretations and malice. Chito Miranda and Paolo Paraiso have already joined in, she said, so there was no longer a need to label the group. Ampalaya Anonymous has already dissolved.

If there is indeed fire between them, Pauleen and Maxene have to douse it sooner or later, what with a new ‘sine novela’ they’ll be co-starring in. In the story conference of GMA-7’s newest afternoon offering, ‘Bakit Kay Tagal ng Sandali’, held last May 13, Pauleen Luna finally broke her silence regarding the rumored conflict with Twitter group, Ampalaya Anonymous. Maxene was also able to say her piece.

According to Maxene, 'It was only a few days ago that I learned about the news that I’ll be working with Pauleen here. I’m glad because it’s my first time to work with her. I don’t really know how an issue came about that we were saying nasty things about her, since there wasn’t any name [in the tweet]. So we were surprised."

On the other hand, Pauleen admitted it was hard to claim if she was indeed the one being talked about since there was no name. "I would be hypocrite to say that there’s no issue at all. But it’s all water under the bridge now." She also clarified the issue about her and JC Tiuseco. "That’s why there’s no truth to it. JC and I are friends, but we’re not the type who will go out, who will talk on the phone. We’re just friends and co-workers. We see each other in Eat Bulaga! And SOP. That’s it."

Maxene also took her turn to clear things about her and Tiuseco and said they still haven’t talked to each other. "We got close, I admit that, but that’s because of work. Now that we’re not working together anymore, we didn’t keep the constant communication like before," she explained.

While the two actresses have been blunt in admitting it wasn’t completely okay between them just yet, they have both expressed openness about talking to each other and patching things up. "Now that we have a show together, we’ll be able to bond. We’ll be with each other so there’s nothing wrong. People know me, I’m really the type who asks, goes and talks," Maxene said.

"It’s always better if you go straight to the person. I don’t believe in sending out messages through TV. If I wanna say something to her, I will go directly to her," Pauleen countered.

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