(From left) Dina Bonnevie, Alex Gonzaga, Nadine Lustre. Images: Screengrab from Instagram/@dinabonnevie, Instagram/@cathygonzaga, BJ Pascual via Instagram/@nadine
Dina Bonnevie on Tuesday unleashed a series of revelations pointing to Alex Gonzaga’s supposed unprofessionalism, claiming that the latter allegedly got mad at Nadine Lustre for beating her into crying on cue first during the filming of their TV5 teleserye “PS: I Love You”.
Speaking to Boy Abunda on his show’s Jan. 31 episode, Bonnevie recalled what transpired during the filming of their drama series, which aired from November 2011 to February 2012. Aside from Gonzaga, Lustre and Bonnevie, other artists who were part of the soap were Gabby Concepcion, Kean Cipriano, AJ Muhlach, Candy Pangilinan, Say Alonzo, Cogie Domingo, Cheska Iñigo, and Melissa Mendez.
During Abunda’s interview, the veteran actress was asked to confirm if she was referring to Gonzaga as the young actress who she claimed, in a previous interview, had been showing some “attitude” and acting like royalty in their set, and who she confronted for being repeatedly tardy and unprofessional during tapings.
“Yes, it was Alex Gonzaga,” Bonnevie said categorically, insisting that the confrontation was not “without reason.”
She claimed the actress-vlogger would arrive late on set, and make the cast and crew wait for several hours.
“Hanggang sa lunch break, umalis na naman siya. Pagbalik niya, basa ang buhok. Walang makeup. So, we had to wait for another three hours bago makapag-take. Eh siyempre, kumukulo na ang dugo ng lahat,” she said.
The actress also recounted a time where she called out Gonzaga for being “very indifferent to your co-workers, adding that the latter even got mad at Lustre for knowing how to cry on cue.
“Kasi may eksena siya, dapat iiyak siya. Parang mommy niya n’un, tapos di siya makaiyak. Sabi ko, ‘Alex, do you know why you cannot cry? It’s because you’re not in touch with your emotions. You’re very indifferent to your co-workers. You know what? Honestly, I want to talk to you kasi we don’t like what you’re doing and that you’re always late,’” she said.
“Sabi niya, ‘Eh marami akong mga ganap eh.’ Sabi ko, ‘Wait a minute, I’m trying to talk to you nicely. Sabi niya, ‘Hindi niyo nakikita ang side ko eh.’ Sabi ko, ‘Hindi pa napapanganak ang nambabastos sa akin kaya Alex, please. Kinakausap kita nang maayos, If you want to stay long in this business, you can’t last kung ganyan ang attitude mo na palagi kang late, dito ka pa maliligo sa set, and you know, you cannot even memorize your lines. Di ka pa makaiyak.’ Tapos nagagalit pa siya kay Nadine [Lustre] kung nauuna pang umiyak si Nadine. Eksena niya daw ‘yun,” she recalled.
The actress-vlogger took on the role of Andrea Tuazon in the teleserye, the eldest child of Kristine (Dina Bonnevie), while Lustre starred as Kristine’s youngest daughter Candice.
‘Spokesperson’
Bonnevie also clarified that she was upfront to Gonzaga during filming because she wants her to “succeed” in her acting career.
“Kasi siya ‘yung banner star ng Channel 5, okay sige I get that. But sabi ko, ‘Good thing na galing ka sa trabaho.’ [Sabi niya kasi], ‘Marami akong booking. Alam ‘yun ng Mommy ko ‘yan. Gusto mo kausapin mo pa ‘yung mommy ko?,’” she quoted Gonzaga as saying then.
“Sabi ko, ‘Kahit kausapin mo pa ‘yung Mommy mo, the thing is when you’re meant to come to this taping, you have to come early. And it didn’t happen once. Ang dami nang beses. Nakakapagod na rin. Kung gusto mong magtagal sa industriya hindi ganyan dapat ang ugali Alex, I hope you understand,’” she added.
The veteran actress also alleged that none of their “PS: I Love You” co-stars were brave to call Gonzaga out for her behavior. She, however, didn’t mention which of their fellow actors were not fond of the actress-vlogger’s attitude during filming.
“Kasi nobody had the strength or audacity to talk to her n’un. So ako ‘yung naging ‘spokesperson’ [ng cast],” she added.
Even if she was initially not on good terms with Gonzaga during filming, Bonnevie said that the controversial actress was “okay” during their “last day.”
“[Alex] was very graciosa to me. She was very nice. In fact, after nun nag-usap pa kami sa taping, okay na siya. Nag-last day of taping pa kami. Masaya kami. She even hosted [the taping]. Nagbiruan kami, nothing. Hindi ako galit sa kanya,” she said.
In December 2022, Gonzaga would claim that she was traumatized after a “matandang artista” (elderly artist) gave her a tongue-lashing during filming of a TV soap and painted her as the “bad guy” for always being late. She said that she had explained her tardiness to having come from another work commitment. The “matandang artita” would later reveal itself as Bonnevie.
Professionalism
Bonnevie also hoped that aspiring actors would learn how to be professional if they want to succeed in the entertainment industry.
“Be professional. Being professional means coming to set on time, reading your script, knowing your role, memorizing your lines, and just enjoy your time at work,” she said. “Please be conscious of other workers and last but not the least, stay in shape para sexy ka pa rin at any age.”
The veteran actress said celebrities should also “be conscious” of other people if they want to pull off their characters properly.
“The most important lesson that I’ve learned [in showbiz] is to always be conscious of other people lagi. Be in touch [with them]. Don’t be indifferent to other people. Feel them, and [imagine] yourself in their shoes… if you’re compassionate with other people, you’ll do things right,” she added.
Gonzaga and Lustre have yet to issue a statement about Bonnevie’s revelation, as of this writing. EDV