How a ‘painful experience’ became a blessing to Kim Chiu

Scene from the “Hotel” episode of the “Huwag Kang Lalabas” trilogy .

From bashing, it became a blessing,” said actress Kim Chiu as she tried to recall what happened to her after uploading in 2020 what is now referred to as the “Bawal Lumabas” video, which eventually became viral and had once caused her to feel depressed.

“People said awful things to me. Tinapak-tapakan ako. I really didn’t do anything bad, and merely expressed what I felt. I just spoke up to defend my home network. Because of the issue, I developed fear of being around people I don’t know. I didn’t go outside the house for two months. I even considered going to Canada to live with my sister there. I thought, at least people there won’t be too judgmental,” said Kim during the Q&A session that followed the screening of her latest movie, “Huwag Kang Lalabas.”

The horror trilogy, which also features Beauty Gonzalez and Aiko Melendez, is directed by Adolfo Alix Jr. It is an official entry to the 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival, which begins on Dec. 25.

“Looking back, I realized why this had to happen to me—I needed to fall down first—before I experienced all these blessings. I learned more about myself as a result of that incident. I discovered how strong I am emotionally. I realized that it didn’t cause the end of my career but merely opened a new chapter,” the actress said.

‘Meant to be’

Kim also said she was grateful that the “painful experience” brought her good things, that she actually gained from all the bashing. “I got to record a single and even did a TV series with ‘Bawal Lumabas’ as the title. Now, I’m here, promoting a film project titled ‘Huwag Kang Lalabas,’” Kim pointed out.

“I think it’s meant to be. ‘Bawal Lumabas’ was relevant especially in 2020. Now that restrictions are starting to loosen up, we are being reminded to be cautious, na ‘wag nang lalabas unless you really need to,” she said, laughing.

As to how she handled all the negative comments, Kim said: “I don’t know these bashers, and so that was my edge over them. The mean things they say to me online don’t matter to me. My job as a host of ‘It’s Showtime’ helped me a lot, too. It made me gain confidence. Also, it’s a Monday to Friday job, meaning I didn’t have time to dwell on the negative things that were happening. I’ve been part of the show for over a year now.”

She further said: “I owe a lot to my supporters. They patronized all my TV programs and movies. They readily defended me when bashers tried to hit me below the belt. As for me, I’ve learned to separate the negative comments from the good ones.”

Former Kapamilya

Kim also addressed the recent buzz created by one of her Instagram posts, particularly a video showing an unidentified man taking down a portrait mounted on a wall in a corridor in ABS-CBN. This post has since been deleted.

It turned out that it was the photo of former Kapamilya talent Bea Alonzo that was removed.

“T’yang Amy (Perez, ‘It’s Showtime’ cohost) and I just did it for fun. We were so stressed that week because we were planning for our ‘Magpasikat’ segment. It just so happened that we were there when the portrait got taken down. We didn’t even arrive soon enough to catch which photo it was. We asked Kuya but he didn’t answer us,” Kim explained.

“I understand that fans can be very protective of their idols, but Bea and I don’t have any issue. Please don’t make one for us,” she told reporters, adding that the slot on the wall that used to be Bea’s remains vacant to this day. “I guess Direk Lauren (Dyogi, ABS-CBN head of TV productions) was right when he said, ‘Why did they have to remove the portrait in the middle of the day, anyway? When a lot of people could see?’ Napahamak tuloy ako!”

Creepy set

Kim shot her segment, titled “Hotel,” for the “Huwang Kang Lalabas” trilogy in July along with Jameson Blake, Tina Paner, Donna Cariaga and Brenda Mage. They filmed in an old convent in Baguio City.

“The place was really creepy. At our stand-by room, I saw an antique charcoal clothes iron and a cabinet with so many cracks that I think it will collapse any moment. It also felt strangely cold in that room so I chose not to stay there,” Kim recalled. “Luckily, I didn’t see any ghosts. They must know that I get scared easily. Don’t ghosts manifest because they are asking for help? I guess they realized that I won’t be of any help to them because I’d scream and run away even before they can tell me what they want,” she said, laughing.

Kim, who has already done numerous horror projects before, said every film related to this particular genre has its challenges. “Since I get frightened easily, the fright you see on my face is always real. I sometimes get scolded by my director because I would run away even before the ghost actor actually appears on the camera frame. This is why I would often tell the staff to first introduce me to my would-be ghost attacker, to first show me what he looks like so I wouldn’t get too surprised,” she explained. “I’m really impressed by our makeup artists here. They did really well in