It’s been almost a week since Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza was last seen on noontime variety show Eat Bulaga, but one of the show’s longtime hosts Vic Sotto clarified on Tuesday that she is not suspended.
“What I know is she is on vacation,” Sotto told Pep.ph at a press conference. “I’m not really in the know, I’m not privy to any of her personal decisions… whatever it is… let’s just respect her issues and whatever it is she is going through.”
Mendoza’s disappearance from the show comes after she released an open letter to fans last week, revealing that she and “love team” partner Alden Richards are not together in real life, and asking fans to stop bashing her family and friends.
READ: Maine Mendoza admits in open letter to fans ‘Alden and I just friends’
The open letter was posted after their love team’s rabid fan base was outraged after seeing her on the Instagram Story of Jake Ejercito, a son of former President Joseph Estrada.
Some speculated that Mendoza was suspended because of this open letter.
In the Philippines, fans are routinely led — or at the least allowed — to believe that love teams, or on-screen partners, are in real relationships. Entire careers are built on dedicated fan bases, but some supporters go overboard.
Last October, actress Angel Locsin was bashed online for stealing the spotlight from Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, another love team, during their TV show, La Luna Sangre.
In June, Mendoza deactivated her Twitter account after sharing her disappointment with her fans.
“I do not get how people can throw so much hate on others. I mean… what were they doing to you?” she tweeted. “I know how much you love us and how hard you try to protect us but enough with the foul words, guys… It’s not right.”
She reactivated her account in October.
Even though she was away from social media, Mendoza continues to be huge online. On Tuesday, Twitter Philippines revealed that she is the fifth-most tweeted celebrity in the world in 2017. She currently has 4.6 million followers on Twitter, 4.1 million on Facebook, and 2.8 million on Instagram.
Mendoza also made headlines in October when she stood up to veteran comedian and longtime Eat Bulaga host Joey de Leon after he belittled a contestant’s experience of depression.
“Depression is not a laughing matter. It’s not a joke. Because many people go through it, especially today’s youth. That if you’re going through it, give them the support,” she said in Filipino on live TV.
Mendoza has not released a statement about whether or not she is suspended from Eat Bulaga. Her last tweet was from Friday, her last Facebook post from Nov. 20, and her last Instagram post from Nov. 19.
