JM de Guzman yesterday announced that he’ll be starring in a new soap opera with college friend Arci Muñoz, amidst an online controversy that has seen the actor receiving torrents of criticism from online fans for apparently distancing himself from his loveteam partner Barbie Imperial.
His post showed him hanging out with Muñoz, whom he’s been friends with since they were still students at the University of the Philippines (UP). Tagging her in the caption, he wrote: “@ramonathornes, Imagine we didn’t even have money to pay the UP Ikot [jeepney]. Now, we have a movie and a soap [opera]. Wow.”
The two will star in a new ABS-CBN show tentatively titled Project Kapalaran. Their movie Last Full Show was earlier announced by Muñoz, also through an Instagram post. The plots of both projects have yet to be announced.
De Guzman posted their photo as fans of his loveteam partner Barbie Imperial have become increasingly hostile to him on Instagram. This was probably caused by a rumored rift between the two, who just a few months ago appeared romantic in several photos and videos that they uploaded themselves on their Instagram accounts. They have also stopped following each other on IG.
Another post which may have fueled the online bashing de Guzman has received recently may have been caused by a post he uploaded which showed him with former movie co-star Rhian Ramos, where he wrote: “Stay strong, I know this hurts already. I’m sorry. Always take care of yourself, friend.”
The post came shortly after Ramos wrote on her Twitter account: “NOT TRUE. [S]eriously children, Im (sic) too old for this nonsense. Gimme a break already.”
Wtf. NOT TRUE. seriously children, Im too old for this nonsense. Gimme a break already.
— Rhian Ramos (@whianwamos) November 25, 2018
Adding more fuel to the controversy was Imperial’s own cryptic post where she wrote: “Young but not stupid.”
Young but not stupid.
— Barbie Imperial (@barbieeimperial) November 27, 2018
Fans of loveteams in the Philippines are a jealous lot. They don’t like the idea of seeing one member of the loveteam paired with another, as they suspect that the actor might fall for his co-star. To be fair, almost all loveteams have made it appear that they are a real couple, so fans naturally expect that they would stick together.
But de Guzman also has his fair share of defenders. One fan wrote: “Wow, you have a new project. Don’t mind those bashers. Their cancerous comments can ruin anyone’s day.”
A netizen used the post as an opportunity to write about the controversial friendship between de Guzman and Ramos.
She wrote: “Why is M [de Guzman] and R’s [Ramos] friendship such a big deal to you bashers? Are they also involved in your lives? You keep criticizing B [Imperial], M, and R. Are you good people? Everyone makes mistakes, mark that in your mind (sic)”
One person gave de Guzman some unsolicited advice, writing: “You should work things out with Barbie. And to the bashers… don’t be like that, all you do is talk. Let’s support both of them because you’re making things worse.”
However, someone insinuated that de Guzman and Muñoz might become a couple — all based on this post. He wrote: “Breaking news… Arci and her boyfriend have broken up…Arci and JM are now a couple.”
