Showbiz Roundup: Rufa Mae Quinto on ‘LOL’; Gerald Santos’ alleged rapist

(From left) Rufa Mae Quinto and Gerald Santos. Images: FILE PHOTOS

Rufa Mae Quinto made headlines after addressing her early exit in the reality show “LOL: Last One Laughing Philippines,” admitting that she opted out for the sake of her family and would rather lose the P1 million cash prize.

Meanwhile, Gerald Santos is further speaking up about his past sexual abuse after he finally named veteran musical director Danny Tan as his alleged rapist years ago.

Time to brush up on your weekly showbiz fix as we look back at INQUIRER.net’s biggest entertainment headlines from the week of August 23 to 29.

Rufa Mae Quinto on her ‘LOL’ stint

Rufa Mae Quinto and the case of “Last One Laughing Philippines” cast at a press conference. Image: Courtesy of Prime Video Philippines

“I’d rather lose the P1 million than lose my family,” said Rufa Mae Quinto as to why she didn’t feel too sad about losing the prize money of the recently concluded reality show “LOL: Last One Laughing Philippines.”

Quinto was one of 10 comedians who took part in the competition where the contestants faced off in a showdown, with the goal of making others laugh without cracking up themselves. Chad Kinis eventually brought home the P1-million cash prize.

“I didn’t feel bad about losing because I already knew where it was heading. The game was starting to get really dirty, so I opted out… I certainly didn’t want to lock lips with Chad Kinis or with anyone there. I have a husband and a child. I didn’t want them to see me do that on TV. Besides, I can’t handle spitting on another person’s face, because I don’t want anyone to do that to me. My brand of humor is different,” she told reporters over lunch recently.

When asked what lesson she learned from the show, Quinto said: “Keeping one’s self from laughing is so difficult that you would eventually cry. Also, the secret to not laughing is to keep yourself feeling hungry. You will eventually get angry at everyone around you and won’t feel like laughing at all. I made the mistake of eating too much during our lunch break. That’s why, in the middle of the competition, I suddenly felt like going to the toilet. That’s another reason I didn’t want to compete anymore. I didn’t want to make a mess out there,” she quipped.

Quinto said she and her family have decided to relocate to Manila from the United States now that she is starting to get offers to work on TV and the movies again. She is currently working on a comedy film by Randolph Longjas titled “Mujigae,” which will be released in October. This was after her series of shows, called “Todo na Tour,” in Canada with Donita Rose and Daniel Matsunaga.

The actress said it was during the press con for “LOL” that she and her husband Trevor Magallanes decided to relocate in Manila.

As for her husband, Quinto said: “He is very supportive. He has believed in me ever since. He said, ‘You’ll do great! I just know it.’”

Quinto said her talent management is negotiating with GMA 7 for her own talk show. She added that she would now be choosier when it comes to her projects.

Gerald Santos reveals alleged rapist’s identity

Image: Facebook/Gerald Santos

Gerald Santos finally named veteran musical director Danny Tan as the person who allegedly raped him when he was just a 15-year-old contestant in a singing contest on GMA.

For the first time since he attended the hearings of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, Santos identified the person who sexually abused him nine years ago, but also whom he accused of causing him to lose what what he thought could have been a lucrative career in the music industry.

“Ngayon po ay handa na po akong harapin ang tunay kong kalaban: ang nanghalay at umabuso sa akin noong ako po ay 15 years old. Si Mr. Danny Tan,” he said at the continuation of the hearing last Aug. 27.

Santos also emotionally recounted how his career was jeopardized when he decided to inform his management of the abuse that he suffered.

“Yung psychiatric at psychological support po sa biktima ay napakalaking bagay lalo po kung bata ang biktima para magkaroon ng safeguards para kahit inalis na po yung sex offenders ay hindi na mababalikan o magagantihan ng mga kaibigan ng nasa posisyon at may loyalty doon sa taong tinanggal,” Santos said.

“Ito po ang personal kong naranasan at matatawag ko po itong jeopardy. Ako na po ang naabuso, ako pa po ang nawalan ng trabaho,” he added.

Santos said in the previous hearing that he was a contestant in a TV singing contest where Tan was musical director when the alleged rape happened. After the revelation, Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada asked Santos if he would file charges against Tan, but the singer said they’re still studying the appropriate charges they will file.

While Santos expressed relief at the action made by the GMA towards Tan, he hopes to have a copy of the investigation done by the network so they can advance with their filing of charges.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa GMA sa pag-aksyong kanilang ginawa sa complaint na idinulog ko: ang tanggalin sa network ang taong aking inakusahan. Yung resulta pa rin po ng imbestigasyon 19 years ago ang aming hihilingin na magkaroon kami ng kopya para magamit namin sa pagbuild up ng case,” he said.

Santos, in the hearing, said that it was not his intention to stain the image of his former television network amid the reports surrounding the alleged crime committed by the network’s former musical director. “Hindi ko po ito laban against GMA, kung hindi sa mga taong gumagawa ng kahalayan at kasamaan.”

Why loss of P5 was humbling for Lovely and Benj

Lovely Abella and Benj Manalo | Image: Screengrab from YouTube/@GMA Network

Lovely Abella and Benj Manalo revealed they used to earn P5 million a month through live selling and became a “little greedy” before their Facebook page got disabled.

The pair told Boy Abunda in a “Fast Talk” interview that they were able to gain their buyers’ trust immediately because they are celebrities.

Abella admitted that live selling changed their lives and the sales that they got were actually “high,” especially since they started during the pandemic. Given the income they got from live selling, Manalo confessed that they got to the point where they became “greedy.”

“Dumating kami sa unang punto namin na medyo naging greedy kami. Nasabi namin ‘di namin kailangan ng show biz kasi okay na kami from doing live selling. But then God changed us, isang click tinanggal niya lahat,” shared the actor, adding that they lost their Facebook page alongside their high number of followers and buyers.

When asked to drop figures about their earnings, Manalo said they were able to make around P5 million in sales per month.

“May isang buwan doon, sabi nila ghost month that time, walang pera ang mga tao, pero we earned at least one month ng mga P4M to P5M. That’s net. That time, sabi namin, ‘Kaya na natin ‘to.’ I mean, ‘di na natin kailangang magtrabaho. We were so full of ourselves,” Benj said.

The couple were “scared” and did not know what to do when they lost their Facebook page, but said it was a realization for them to not be boastful. They are rebuilding their platform, with their new Facebook page having now almost 40,000 likes and 96,000 followers.

Willie Revillame takes action on cash prize

Willie Revillame | Image: Screengrab from YouTube/Wil to Win

Willie Revillame withdrew a participant’s chance to win a prize in “Wil to Win” after he found out that the latter was not an avid viewer of his show and instead a fan of his rival, “Family Feud.”

In a recent episode of “Wil to Win,” Revillame called a random female participant on air. During their phone conversation, the contestant appeared “cold” in responding to the host, asking who was calling and which program it was.

Revillame read the letter from the participant saying that she wants to join the game show as she hopes to secure the P50,000 cash prize for her children’s school expenses and her medical bills.

The contestant confirmed she was the one who wrote the letter and then asked Revillame, “Saan po ba kayong programa?”

The TV host responded, “Programa? Eh, ano bang pinapanood n’yong programa?”

“Sa GMA po, Family Feud,” responded the player.

Revillame appeared disappointed, but tried to laugh it off. He then went on to say, “Ay ganu’n ba? Family Feud? Eh, sayang po, Wil To Win ‘to. Eh salamat po. Sayang no? Sana magwi-Wil To Win kayo. Sige po enjoy watching Family Feud, ba-bye!” then proceeded to drop the call.

The singer-host then explained why he had to revoke the chance of the contestant, “Sumulat siya sakin… Tignan niyo totoong-totoo hindi ‘to scripted. Kitang kita niyo na tumatawag kami… Family Feud pala pinapanood niya, tapos bibigyan ko pa siya ng 50,000. Aba e, doon na lang siya manood.”

According to the game mechanics, the participant has to watch the show live to be able to answer a question and receive the chance to spin a wheel that includes different cash prizes up to P60,000.

Prior to giving the question, Revillame would ask questions such as “what color of shirt is he wearing?” to be able to confirm that the contestant was watching the show in real-time.

Maria Ozawa on her fame in PH

Maria Ozawa in “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” | Image: Screengrab from YouTube/@GMA Network

Maria Ozawa recalled the first time she found out that she was famous in the Philippines, wondering why, as she had never even been in the country at the time.

“This is my 10th year here in the Philippines. Maybe at the end of 2014, I had Filipino friends visiting Japan and then they were saying, ‘Why don’t you visit the Philippines? Have you been there?’ I’ve only been to Cebu once, and Manila I haven’t and they were like, ‘Oh, you’re famous there’ and I was like, ‘Really? I’ve never been to the Philippines and I’m famous?” she shared during a “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” interview.

Ozawa recalled that she proceeded to visit the Philippines the following year and emphasized that she ended up loving the hospitality, the Filipino food, and the weather.

Rising to fame from her adult movies, Ozawa is now playing David Licauco’s mother in the GMA series “Pulang Araw.” The former adult film star revealed she had “mixed feelings” about accepting the role.

“It was very hard, actually, because when I first read the script and my role, I had mixed feelings, of course, because when it comes to history, it’s really hard to repeat that because nobody wants to, you know, remember the bad things that they had to go through in every country, which doesn’t mean only in Japan or in the Philippines,” she explained.

Ozawa also shared the reason she quit the adult movie industry.

“I wanted to quit the industry while they still know about me or when they’re still talking about me. ‘Cause how am I supposed to prove anything if I’m not famous anymore?” she said.

Bea Borres bares she was sexually exploited by brother

Bea Borres. Images: Screengrabs from YouTube/Toni Gonzaga Studio

Bea Borres was emotional as she looked back at the time when her older brother recorded a video of her while taking a bath in her teens. Despite this, she eventually chose to forgive him.

Borres recalled the incident in a sit-down interview with Toni Gonzaga last August 25, sharing that her older brother took on the role of a parental figure due to them not having a positive relationship with their now-dead parents.

She then that he recorded a video of her while taking a bath when she was “13 or 14” years old. “Ngayon talaga, sobrang love ko si Kuya… pero growing up, hindi naging okay ang relationship namin kasi paano ba sasabihin? [Sexual abuse] po ba ‘yun? So, vinideohan niya ako while taking a bath, naked. I think I was 13 or 14.”

Borres said she didn’t know she was being recorded then, and the video was even sent to his friends. “He took the video and sent it to his friends for, I don’t know, for money. Hindi ko alam, eh.”

Borres shared that her parents asked her if she initially wanted to file a police blotter against him, but she opted to have him treated. But before the incident, she recalled that she had been inappropriately touched by her older brother several times in the past.

Despite the “traumatizing” incident, Borres said she chose to forgive her older brother while choosing to understand where he’s coming from.

“Ngayon, okay na ako. Kasi sobrang nangingibabaw yung love and forgiveness ko… Si Kuya kasi, growing up, he was lonely din. He was depressed. Parang lalaki, eh. Nagke-crave din siya ng female validation siguro. So, parang feeling ko, nilalabas niya sa akin ‘yun,” she said.

The actress-internet personality then addressed her interview on Facebook last August 26, where she appealed to the public to refrain from “tormenting” her older brother.

“Maybe I did overshare, but my past experiences have shaped me into the person I am today. Everything is well and forgiven, which is why I was comfortable enough to share my story,” she said. “I’ve faced so much backlash already… but I hope we can stop tormenting my brother.”

Borres reiterated that her older brother has “learned a lot” since the incident, saying her family witnessed his growth through the years.