Cristine Reyes apologizes, recounts heated exchange with Vivian Velez

Days after she was accused of being rude towards veteran actress Vivian Velez, actress Cristine Reyes has broken her silence on the issue with her “Tubig at Langis” co-star.

In her statement coursed through Viva Entertainment Inc. and was sent to the Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP), Reyes traced the start of the issue to the mosquito-infested dressing room assigned to her.

READ: ‘Tubig at Langis’ defends Cristine Reyes over feud with Vivian Velez

She was then transferred to a better dressing room—the master’s bedroom of their shooting location—which became her regular dressing room.

Last March 3, the production staff asked her if Velez can share the said dressing room with her.

“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,” Reyes told PEP.

She then recalled an instance where she and her assistant came from a movie shoot and that she was unable to sleep in her dressing room because of the noises made by the veteran actress.

Reyes then said that when Velez’s dressing room was set up, the veteran actress threw a fit on her transfer.

READ: Vivian Velez bolts out of ‘Tubig at Langis’ over Cristine Reyes’ ‘rudeness’  

“The EP (executive producer) 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,” Reyes said.

She said that she tried to reach out to Velez to tell that she was not involved in her transfer, however, she was stopped by the EP because Velez’s emotions “were still so high.”

Reyes then learned that the showrunners of “Tubig at Langis” will negotiate with the veteran actress regarding her departure from the said soap opera.

“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 (Hold on a little longer, AA. On Monday, the management will talk to her regarding her departure from the show.)’ 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 said.

She also revealed that Velez and her make-up artist charged toward her after they heard her singing Avril Lavigne’s song “Goodbye.”

Reyes recalled: “Ms Vivian started to shout at me and, I quote: ‘Ako ba ang pinariringgan mo!? Sino ka ba?! Superstar ka ba (Are you referring to me!? Who are you anyway?! Are you a superstar)?!’”

“I got rattled at this point and I just answered her in a mild manner, ‘Kumakanta lang naman ako, masama ba kumanta (I was just singing. Is it wrong to sing?)’” she said.

Reyes was then pulled away by her co-star Zanjoe Marudo from Velez and her make-up artist.

The “Tubig at Langis” star ended her statement with an apology.

“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 the set in this particular instance.

READ: Ara Mina: Cristine-Vivian feud ‘blown out of proportion’

“But I sincerely apologize if it hurt Ms Vivian or anybody else,” she said.

Reyes said that she has “high regard for and respect [for] senior artists who have paved the way for stars like me in the industry.”

An angry Velez lashed out against Reyes on Facebook last Sunday, saying that she is quitting the show because of Reyes’ “rude” treatment.

On Tuesday, the veteran actress said that she has taped her last scenes on the show and that it felt like “walking in the lion’s den.”

The ABS-CBN afternoon soap features Reyes, Marudo and Isabelle Daza. AJH/RAM