Personalities praised actress Julia Barretto for taking the pregnancy allegations against her to the National Bureau of Investigation after she publicly dismissed former broadcaster Jay Sonza‘s pregnancy claims as “fake news.”
The 23-year-old actress filed a cybercrime complaint against Sonza on Friday days after he posted on Facebook that she was supposedly impregnated by the actor Gerald Anderson during the quarantine period.
Sonza deleted his claims and retracted his statement on Wednesday but Barretto still pursued the complaint as she said that it left her and her family in distress.
“I am pursuing this case because the statements made by Mr. Sonza are untrue and irresponsible. The widespread reposting of the news based on his post caused distress to me and my family. I don’t want to take this matter lightly,” the actress told ABS-CBN News.
“Mr. Sonza, and all those who publish these reckless and baseless posts, must be held accountable for their actions so that they think twice before claiming things as fact,” Barretto added.
The actress said that she wanted to teach Sonza and others a lesson.
“Ang dami ko na kasing pinagdaaan, ang dami ko nang pinalampas lalo na sa social media, binastos na ang reputation ko, ang pangalan ko. You know, I think I just want to show people na hindi ko na pinapalampas ‘yung mga bagay na ganito,” Barretto stated.
Several personalities showered Barretto with their support. These include television host Bianca Gonzalez, longtime broadcaster Karen Davila and Aika Robredo, daughter of Vice President Leni Robredo.
“Thank you @lizasoberano and @barrettojulia for being brave and standing up for what you believe in, showing other women that you can fight for your boundaries, and there is a difference between a negative comment and an abusive comment. We stand by you,” Gonzalez tweeted with a raised hands emoji.
“After Liza Soberano, Julia Barretto stands up for herself,” Davila said in response to the reports.
Aika backed the actress by sharing a raised fist emoji.
“First, Liza Soberano. Now, Julia Barretto,” she wrote.
Others who likewise backed Barretto are artist Juan Miguel Severo and filmmaker Antoinette Jadaone.
I love it when women fight back. Go get him, @barrettojulia. https://t.co/yJZXi0g8JN
— Juan Miguel Severo 🏳️🌈 (@TheRainBro) September 25, 2020
💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼 https://t.co/Jb4QBfZhEB
— Tonette, Tonette (@tonetjadaone) September 25, 2020
On September 22, Barretto posted a photo of herself smiling and flaunting her toned abs just after Sonza claimed in a now-unavailable Facebook post that she was supposedly pregnant with Anderson, her co-star in romance film “Between Maybes.”
“FAKE NEWS,” she wrote with a smiling emoji.
Barretto then also received encouraging words of support from showbiz colleagues and online users.
