Barbie Forteza recalls walking out of guesting due to ‘unprofessional’ prod staff

Barbie Forteza revealed she once walked out of a scheduled guesting after she waited for hours beyond her call time, only to learn that the production staff prioritized another celebrity whom the director was friends with.

The actress opened up about this as she spoke of her work ethics during an episode of “TRGGRD” podcast last May 8.

“I try to be nice to everyone kasi honestly, na-experience ko na hindi nice sakin everyone. So, nag-promise ako sa sarili ko na hindi ko ito gagawin sa iba,” she said. “Ang gusto ko, kung ano man ‘yung impression na maibigay ko sa [iba], makuha nila as an example or lesson na madadala nila.”

(I try to be nice to everyone because honestly, I’ve experienced what it’s like when people weren’t nice to me. So, I promised myself that I would never do that to others. What I want is that whatever impression I leave on others, they can take it as an example or a lesson they can carry with them.)

Podcast hosts Sean Lucas, Jeff Moses, Vince Maristela, and guest host Haley Dizon then expressed curiosity, asking Forteza to name those she had such an experience with.

“Parang prod ‘yon, blocktimer noon. Guesting lang,” she disclosed, while clarifying that the incident happened several years ago and that she does not harbor ill feelings over it. (It was a production staff who was a blocktimer back then. It was only a guesting.)

Forteza narrated that it was a scheduled guesting which had an 11 a.m. call time. The night before it, Forteza had politely asked the production staff of the unidentified show if they could adjust the call time, because the actress was coming from a taping that had ended at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, the staff apologetically said that they could not change the call time as there were also other guests lined up.

“So, ke puyat, ke alas siete natapos, nando’n ako nang 11. Tapos mag-aala-una na, wala pa rin. Malaman-laman na lang namin ni mom, may inunang guest,” she recounted.

(So despite having no sleep and even though we finished at 7 a.m., I was there by 11 a.m. Then it was almost one o’clock and I still hadn’t been called. Later on, my mom and I found out that another guest had been prioritized first.)

“Hindi naman bigger star—parang I wouldn’t consider that person a bigger star. Pero parang mas close lang kasi do’n sa director,” she said, without dropping any names. “Hindi naman siya puyat!”

(Not necessarily a bigger star—I wouldn’t even consider that person a bigger star. It just seemed like they were closer to the director. They weren’t even sleep-deprived!)

Forteza stressed the importance of respecting other people’s time, further pointing out how some celebrities still pull the “friendship card” with production staff.

“So ang ending, umalis ako do’n sa guesting. Tapos tumawag ‘yung production na [ako] na raw po, sabi ko, ‘Sorry po. Hindi pa po kasi kami natutulog e. Pasensya na po, next time na lang,'” she said.

(So in the end, I left. Then the production staff called and said it was finally my turn, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, but we still haven’t gotten any sleep yet. My apologies, let’s do it some other time.)

While she did not want to do such an action, she said she wanted to send a message that no one deserves that kind of treatment.

“Hindi naman sila nagalit. Nag-sorry pa sila—even the host—kasi nga it was very unprofessional on their part. Aminado naman sila,” she continued. “Mutual respect lang tayo.”

(They didn’t get mad. They even apologized—even the host—because they knew it was very unprofessional on their part. They admitted it. It’s really just about mutual respect.)

Forteza reiterated that she has already moved on from the incident, although she remained tight-lipped on the identities of the individuals involved in the matter. /edv