Actor Anthony Jennings trended on social media as Filipinos called on him to take accountability for the issue involving him and his love team partner, Maris Racal.
The actress on Friday, December 6, faced the public days after Anthony’s ex-girlfriend, Jam Villanueva, leaked alleged screenshots of her conversations with her co-star which contained flirty messages.
Jam leaked the screenshots days after the actor confirmed their breakup after “nearly seven years” of being together.
Anthony also previously said that he and Maris were just “friends.”
Days after Jam posted the screenshots, the actress shared her side of the story and admitted to breaking up with her five-year boyfriend, Rico Blanco, after realizing she was developing feelings for her co-star.
“I came clean right away. I told my ex everything. And I admitted things to him. And then we broke up. It wasn’t easy. It was very hard for me, too. I announced the breakup,” Maris said in a 14-minute presser.
“The reason why I became so emotional during the interview was because I was holding back the truth. ‘Yan ‘yung totoo,” she added.
The actress insisted that her co-star kept telling her he and Jam were no longer an item, hence her actions and messages towards him.
Maris said that she understood where Jam was coming from and apologized for her actions.
“I’m so embarrassed, and I’m sorry that you get to see that. But I can assure you, tuloy pa rin ako. Tuloy pa rin ang laban. Magta-trabaho pa rin ako kahit nahihirapan. Hindi pa rin namamatay ‘yung apoy sa puso ko,” she said, referring to acting.
During and after her presser, Filipinos immediately took to social media to wonder where her onscreen partner Anthony was amid the controversy.
“Pero bakit si Maris Racal lang,” a pop culture-oriented page said.
“Ang main takeaway namin ay: asan ang statement ni Anthony Jennings?” the “FFTM” (Follow The Trend Movement) commented.
Its Facebook post has earned 1,200 likes and reactions.
“My question talaga out of all of this is, bakit walang pitchforks kay Anthony… I feel bad for Maris taking it all like this, when both of them were part of the controversy,” a user on the X (formerly Twitter) platform said.
“Statement from Anthony Jennings, when?” another Pinoy asked.
Statement from Anthony Jennings, when? pic.twitter.com/ICfnFpkm1i
— The Wasted Wanderer (@_wastedwanderer) December 6, 2024
“I still wonder about the deafening silence of the male cheater in this whole controversy,” history researcher Kristoffer Pasion, also known as “Indio Historian” online, wrote.
“We have a distorted perception of manhood in this country — one that celebrates male sexual exploits, but gives these men an escape hatch from accountability at the expense of women. Duwag,” he added.
Both Maris and Anthony were not present at the media conference for their latest movie project, “And the Breadwinner Is,” on Thursday, December 5.
Meanwhile, the actors first worked together in the romance-drama series “Can’t Buy Me Love,” where they played the SnoRene (Snoop and Irene) tandem whose chemistry hooked Filipinos.
Their chemistry as a love team has since scored them various endorsement deals with different brands and new projects like “Incognito” and “And the Breadwinner Is.”
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