Katya Santos (left) and Sheree | Image: Screengrab from YouTube/GMA Network
Former Viva Hot Babes members Katya Santos and Sheree admitted that it hurt them to be described as “bold stars” at the time they were doing on-screen sexy roles.
During a guest appearance on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, the two actresses were asked if there was a term that offended or hurt them in the past.
“‘Yung ‘bold star.’ I didn’t like that because, for me, I think, we’re actresses. It’s just that during that time ang Philippines parang hindi pa sila ready compared sa Hollywood. Sa Hollywood wala namang ganon, if you’re an actress and you need to be naked, then okay, ‘di ka tatawaging bold star,” said Santos.
Santos underscored that what they do takes a whole lot of courage, and it shouldn’t be belittled.
“Ayun lang ‘yung masakit minsan, ‘Oh, bold star ka lang,’ Parang ‘yung ‘lang,’ parang ‘why,’ ‘Di niyo ba alam na hindi ganon kadali maging naked on screen. It takes courage and will power na maghubad ka in front of someone,” explained the actress.
Sheree echoed Santos’ statement by saying that at the time they had no choice as it was also a way to ensure more projects for them.
“Actually, ‘yun talaga ‘yung pinaka ayaw naming na word na ginagamit pagka dine-describe kami. Kasi if you need to take off your clothes for a certain role or story, wala kaming choice eh,” she said.
READ: Andrea Del Rosario says she didn’t like her ‘sexy star’ image before
Sheree also revealed that her 16-year-old son also asked her to stop doing Vivamax roles.
“Kasi ‘yung one time pumunta kami sa school niya, merong lumapit. ‘I watch your movie,’ ‘What movie’ blah blah. Tapos sabi ng anak ko, ‘What happened’ tapos ini-explain ko sa kaniya tapos sabi niya, ‘I wanna sit down and talk to you,’” shared the actress.
“He said, ‘I just have one request, you can still do ‘yung mga sexy but can you not do the Vivamax na, the bold,’ Sabi ko, ‘Yes. I just tried it lang naman. Even before you told me, I decided to move na to more serious projects,’” added Sheree.
Meanwhile, when asked about their motivations for tackling such roles, Santos gave an honest answer.
“Real talk, fame of course. Because if you’re famous dire-diretso na ‘yung work mo. Parang naging stepping stone lang siya na magkaroon ka pa ng more projects,” she remarked.
Known for their hits “Bulaklak,” “Kikay,” and “Basketbol,” Viva Hot Babes was a girl group formed in 2003, known for their sexy roles and provocative dance moves. Aside from Santos and Sheree, the group also count Maui Taylor, Andrea Del Rosario, Gwen Garci, Jen Rosendahl, as members, among others.