Showbiz Roundup: Eva Darren-FAMAS fiasco; Richard Gutierrez and Barbie Imperial

The recent fiasco involving Eva Darren and the organizers of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) awards is the talk of the entertainment industry, with both camps airing their side of the story after the screen veteran was felt disrespected at the awards ceremony.

Recently, FAMAS social media manager Johnrey Rivas put the blame on its public relations officer (PRO) Renz Spangler, while urging the latter to take responsibility for the recent fiasco.

Meanwhile, the interest of eagle-eyed netizens were piqued after Richard Gutierrez and Barbie Imperial were seen together at what seemed to be a getaway in South Korea.

All these and more, as we look back at INQUIRER.net’s hottest entertainment news from May 24 to 30.

Eva Darren and the FAMAS fiasco

Fernando de la Peña, son of screen veteran Eva Darren, called out the organizers of the FAMAS awards for its alleged “last minute” removal of Darren as one of the presenters for the ceremony last May 26.

On Monday, May 27, de la Peña said on Facebook his mother was excited at having received an invitation to be one of the presenters with Tirso Cruz III, but this turned into dismay upon learning that she had been unceremoniously replaced without so much as a notice by the organizers.

This action, he said, was not only rude but also “disrespectful,” “unethical,” and “unprofessional” towards an “icon of Philippine cinema.” FAMAS had since apologized for the matter hours after de la Peña’s statement.

De la Peña shared that Darren was willing to prepare for the event, brave the stormy weather, and even spend a “price tag of P5,000 per plate” to accommodate her three grandchildren who accompanied her to the event.

“My mother never went on the stage. The PR officer of FAMAS who had been in constant communication with my mother prior to the event had absolutely no explanations to offer, just a thousand apologies. He confessed not knowing what happened and wasn’t sure why there was a last-minute change,” de la Pena said.

De la Pena said FAMAS organizers’ “rude and disrespectful” treatment of his mother needed to be called out, given that it’s a “prestigious award-giving body” that has been doing the same thing every year and has presumably mastered their craft after 72 years.

FAMAS says sorry

FAMAS’ organizers apologized to Eva Darren after her removal as one of the presenters of the ceremony, claiming she had to be “replaced” as she couldn’t be “located by the production team” at the ceremony.

Hours after Darren’s son Fernando de la Peña called out FAMAS on Facebook, the awards-giving body publicly apologized to Darren, saying her sudden replacement as a presenter was a “misjudgment” and not “intentional.”

“FAMAS would like to express its sincerest apologies to Miss Eva Darren, an icon in Philippine Movie Industry and a professional actress whose career is indubitably worthy of emulation. She was part of the program in last night’s Awards Night and was supposed to present Special Citations with Mr. Tirso Cruz III,” its post began.

“But considering that we were running a live show, and due to myriads of people present in last night’s festivities, the production team was not able to locate Ms. Darren. This was indeed a setback in the live show and a negligence on the part of the team. Rest assured that this was not intentional and purely a misjudgment,” continued FAMAS.

Since the ceremony was “streamed live,” Darren’s “disappearance” had to “be remedied right away” which resulted in a “last minute” search for her replacement.

FAMAS’ organizers said that while its apology to Darren “cannot undo” the repercussions of her exclusion, it hoped the screen veteran would allow its committee to make a personal visit to “honor her stature” and “rebuild trust” toward her.

Eva Darren, family accept FAMAS’ apology

De la Peña, on behalf of his mother Eva Darren and their family, acknowledged and accepted the apology extended by FAMAS, after its “unprofessional” treatment of the veteran actress at the recent awards night.

De La Peña issued his response to the awards-giving body’s public apology through his Facebook page last May 28, recalling how their family considers Darren’s 1969 FAMAS trophy as one of their “very few treasured possessions.”

“It is far from our intention to ruffle feathers and in fact, our upbringing inclined towards avoiding trouble at all cost often at our emotional expense,” he said. “We revered FAMAS and everything it stands for. This is why what happened to my mother, in the eyes of our family, was incomprehensible, unexpected, unimaginable.”

De la Peña noted that the PR officer of FAMAS as well as actor Tirso Cruz III, who was supposed to be Darren’s co-presenter for an award, were also “casualties of someone’s questionable backstage judgment.”

“My mom was seated at a table front and center adjacent to the stage, rubbing elbows with my second mom, Ninang Divina Valencia, and my awesome Tita Marissa Delgado. For the reasons I stated above and on behalf of my mother, Ms. Eva Darren, our family accepts the olive branch that FAMAS has extended and only hopes that future events will prove to be contrasting,” De La Peña said.

‘Haters gonna hate’

Vince Tañada, director of the 72nd FAMAS awards appeared to address the controversial snub of the awards-giving body toward screen veteran Eva Darren.

Aside from being the director of the recent awards night, Tañada also served as one of the presenters in the ceremony. The filmmaker is known for his work in the films “Katips” and “Ako Si Ninoy.”

“Haters (are) gonna hate. Regardless of what you do. So just move on and live your life to the fullest,” Tañada said in a now-deleted Facebook Story, posted on May 27. While he has taken down his post, many netizens have taken screenshots of it.

In a post by content creator and lawyer Jesus Falcis, Tañada “and his group” are accused of taking control of the recent FAMAS. The organizers, however, have yet to confirm nor deny the claim.

FAMAS PRO’s alleged ‘negligence’

FAMAS social media manager Johnrey Rivas claimed that its PRO Renz Spangler was at fault for the awards night’s fiasco, with the former asking the latter to take accountability for his “negligence” and “shortcomings.”

Rivas detailed his side of the story on the much-talked-about debacle that involved veteran actress Eva Darren on Facebook last May 29.

Rivas began by revealing that Spangler sold event tickets to Darren and promised to make her one of the presenters. Darren was initially part of the script but was supposedly removed after Spangler failed to confirm her attendance.

He also shared that there were other original presenters—including Gloria Diaz, LA Santos, and Alfred Vargas—who were removed and replaced due to their non-confirmation of attendance. Then, a new list of presenters—which did not include Darren—to their group chat before posting it on social media but received no comments or disapproval from Spangler.

Spangler, who was absent at the final coordination meeting and rehearsal day, allegedly did not inform the others as well that he had given Darren a script prior to the event. “Wala kaming alam sa transaction nila o mga promises nila sa isa’t isa,” Rivas said.

Rivas then disclosed that unexpected circumstances arose hence they struggled finding a co-presenter alongside Tirso Cruz III—the role supposedly for Darren. However, Rivas said the staff members did not look for Darren because she was no longer on the list of presenters, and because they were not aware of her attendance at the event.

He also added that Spangler, amid the evident struggle of the stage manager in finding a substitute presenter, did not inform them of Darren’s presence and did not initiate to escort the veteran actress backstage when he knew she was ready to present.

“To clarify the statement ng FAMAS, isang device ng FAMAS na iligtas ang PRO sa apology letter—”cannot locate Eva Darren” dahil hindi talaga namin hinahanap si Eva Darren. Wala siya sa program,” he said. “Mas pinili ng FAMAS na maging sacrificial lamb ang production outfit na nagma-manage to protect the emotional and mental challenges ni Renz na namatay din ng lola ng araw ng pagsulat ng apology.”

Lamenting the hate directed at the FAMAS awards night director Vince Tañada, Rivas continued, “Ang director namin na advocate ng mental illness ay pumayag na maging sacrificial lamb upang maprotektahan ang PRO na ngayon ay off-the-hook daw according to the son of Eva Darren.”

Rivas, who announced in his post that he will tender his resignation as FAMAS social media manager, also made an open letter to Spangler whom he urged to take accountability.

Richard and Barbie spotted in South Korea

Neither Richard Gutierrez nor Barbie Imperial themselves have clarified reports romantically linking them to one another, but fresh rumors of their romance surfaced after they were spotted in South Korea.

Photos of Gutierrez and Imperial in what seemed to be a getaway in South Korea were posted by one Grace Yang on Facebook last May 26.

As seen in the post, Yang and her daughter asked for a photo with Imperial. “Kayo na maglagay ng captions,” she wrote.

The photos also showed the rumored couple crossing a busy street while appearing to be in conversation with each other.

The Facebook user took down her post but screenshots of her posts have been taken by other netizens.

Gutierrez and Imperial first sparked dating rumors after they were seen together at a gastropub in Alabang last January. Four months later. entertainment insider Ogie Diaz reported they are “exclusively dating” while citing an anonymous source.

Did Celeste question Chelsea’s win?

Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi found herself on the hot seat after appearing to express disbelief in the victory of Bulacan’s Chelsea Manalo as the new Miss Universe Philippines 2024 titleholder.

Right after Manalo’s crowning moment on early morning of May 23, Cortesi posted on X her sentiments in capital letters, “What just happened [MUPH2024 hashtag]?”

Her tweet immediately drew the attention of the netizens, with some replying that “it was also their reaction when Cortesi was crowned in 2022 and failed to win the crown for the Philippines in Miss Universe the same year.”

After various reactions to her post, Cortesi clarified that she was not questioning the crowning of Manalo, but of “how the other crowns were distributed.”

“Ya’ll need to chill. Haha. What I meant by what happened was how the other crowns were distributed. Where’s Cainta? Where’s Taguig? Stop trying to make an issue; I have my bets, but I fully support whoever wins,” she explained.

Andi slams viral woman with Philmar

Andi Eigenmann aired her dismay toward a woman whose “friendly” video with Philmar Alipayo became viral, stressing the clip was edited and posted “for some social media attention.”

In a TikTok video earlier shared by one Crissa Liaging, she and Alipayo are talking while standing next to each other. At one point in the clip, Alipayo leans his head close to Liaging’s while looking at her face. He also playfully kicks her leg while holding her waist.

Liaging has already taken down the video—which used SWV’s song “Weak” as background music—from her TikTok page as of this writing, but it has been re-uploaded by netizens on social media.

“He can go out with his friends, go drinking every once in a while, and chat with whoever he wants. No harm in that,” Eigenmann wrote on her Instagram Story last May 27. “What’s shameful is purposely posting and editing a video to cause a stir, disturbing the peace of people and dragging them into their negativity, just for some social media attention.”

Liaging also spoke up on the matter in a separate TikTok video, clarifying that she and Alipayo were not flirting and that there were a lot of people around them at the time, who were just not captured in the clip.

She, however, admitted that it was a misjudgment on her part to have shared the clip which was misinterpreted by netizens.

Meanwhile, it appears that all is well between Eigenmann and Alipayo as the couple shared photos of them at their Siargao store.

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