Bituin Escalante and Neri Naig-Miranda came to the defense of Lea Salonga days after her encounter with fans who barged into her Broadway dressing room went viral on social media.
Following the incident, Christopher Carpila, the uploader of the viral encounter with Salonga, explained his side of the story in an interview with Julius and Christine Babao, where he maintained that he merely posted the video on social media to express his “disappointment” about the incident.
Despite this, Escalante recalled a past encounter with the singer-actress in Singapore on Twitter, where she and her companions asked permission from the production team before meeting the latter.
“The very gracious @MsLeaSalonga with our family after a performance of Sweeney Todd in Singapore. We did ask permission from production, prior to the show, if there was an opportunity to meet the cast. Asking nicely, and within respectful bounds, goes a long way,” she wrote.
“Not one to use her privilege either, when she comes out to support local productions, she usually hangs back during post show meet and greets and waits her turn to say hello to the cast. Tumatagal lang sa kanya dahil lahat kami fumafangirl (We just lasted a long time with her because we’re all fangirling,” she further added.
The very gracious @MsLeaSalonga with our family after a performance of Sweeney Todd in Singapore. We did ask permission from production, prior to the show, if there was an opportunity to meet the cast. Asking nicely, and within respectful bounds, goes a long way. pic.twitter.com/Q9MCafZ1mh
— bituin escalante (@gobituin) July 17, 2023
Naig-Miranda advised her followers to “be nice,” while looking back at her successful fangirl moment with Salonga on her personal Facebook page.
“I LOVE LEA SALONGA. Grabe pagka fan ko kay Lea Salonga. Lahat ata ng nakakakilala sa akin personally, maka Lea talaga ako. Nung nanood kami ng concert nya at sinama ako ng asawa ko. Nagkaroon kami ng chance na magpapicture sa kanya. Pero hindi kami pumunta sa dressing room nya,” she said.
(I love Lea Salonga. I’m such a huge fan of Lea Salonga. Everyone who knows me personally knows how much I support Lea. When my husband and I watched her concert, we had a chance to have a photo taken with her. But we didn’t go to her dressing room.)
The “Star Circle Quest” alum then shared that she and her husband, Parokya ni Edgar frontman Chito Miranda, made sure to wait for the singer-actress to be done with personal matters, as she pointed out that Miranda knows Salonga.
“Naghintay kami sa gilid ng stage, waiting for her na magpalit ng casual attire kase naka gown sya nun. Kahit kakilala ni Chito si Ms Lea, never syang nag insist na pumasok kami sa dressing room nya,” she said. “Or kinulit si Sir Gerard Salonga na papasukin kami sa dressing room ng kapatid nya. Naghintay kami kasama ng iba pang gustong magpapicture kay Ms Lea,” she said, referring to Salonga’s younger brother.
(We waited at the side of the stage while she changed into a casual attire since she was wearing a gown. Even if Chito knows Ms. Lea, he never insisted on going inside her dressing room. He never asked Sir Gerard Salonga as well to allow us into his sister’s dressing room. We were right there with fellow fans to have our photo op with Ms Lea.)
Naig-Miranda also pointed out that Salonga accommodates her fans’ requests for photos to be taken as long as you’re “nice.”
“Pagkalabas naman nya, inisa isa nya lahat ng gustong magpapicture sa kanya. And hindi lahat ng andun ay artista or producers, lahat ng andun mga fans na nanood ng concert nya na naghihintay ng turn na makapagpapicture sa nag iisang Lea Salonga.
Let us all be nice,” she said.
(When she came out, she gave everyone a chance to have their pictures taken with her. And not everyone is related to celebrities or the show’s producers, there are fans who waited for their turn after the concert. Let us all be nice.)
Meanwhile, Janno Gibbs said on his Instagram Story that he understands where Salonga is coming from, although he hoped that she voiced her concern properly.
“Nasa tama naman si Ms. Lea. Bawal talaga sa dressing room/backstage ang wala sa listahan. Sana lang nasabi niya [nang] mas maayos. ‘Yung hindi mapapahiya ang fans. Sa akin lang naman (Ms. Lea is right. You’re not allowed to go to the dressing room or backstage if you’re not on the guest list. I just hope she said it properly, where the fans will not be embarrassed),” he said.
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@jannolategibbs
In the video posted by Carpila on social media, Salonga could be seen patiently explaining to his group why they need to get out of the dressing room and join the rest of the fans who were similarly waiting for the chance for a photo op.
Days after the viral encounter, Salonga revealed that Carpila and his companions were already “escorted out of the building, but came back.” The Broadway star-producer has yet to address the latter’s interview, as of this writing. EDV