I say that the interview was easy because the subject was Melanie Marquez and when she talks, we listen and wait for little surprises along the way. And last Saturday afternoon on Startalk, Melanie was all set to pounce on her opponents and there was no need to prod her any further because when I got to the studio 10 minutes before airtime, I already found her in the talent room stewing and ranting and sharpening her claws.
Okay, for those who just zoomed in from Mars, the problem began when Sen. Lito Lapid supposedly didn’t help finance son Manuelito’s studies. When this issue was taken up the other Sunday on The Buzz on ABS-CBN, Kris Aquino made a comment that didn’t exactly sit well with Melanie. I heard what Kris said and as far as I remember, she was really just reacting to the issue in her capacity as a talk show host. The problem was, Kris also had inside information because of the Mark Lapid connection and she shared a bit of that to the viewers and this offended Melanie and I can understand where Ms. Marquez is coming from because she is a mother hurting for her son.
And so, last Saturday, Melanie was all set to pour a steaming cauldron of fiery words against those who hurt her son – and that was the difficult part from my end.
The Lapids – although I am not very close to them – are actually neighbors in Baguio. Before I decided to settle there, in fact, I consulted first with Sen. Lapid and based on my personal dealings with him, I realized that he is basically an honest and honorable person. I’m no longer going into details, but I can say that although he is really no saint, the man has integrity as far as I am concerned.
I do not know Mrs. Marissa Lapid personally. But Mark I know quite well because I’d bump into him every so often and he seems to be a nice kid.
And Kris? I don’t exactly know where I stand with her now, but the last thing I wanted to happen during that Melanie Marquez interview on Startalk was for Kris’ P80-M libel suit against GMA 7 to become P85-M.
Mercifully, although Melanie was on a rampage during that interview, there was nothing slanderous that she said at least as per my assessment.
And in all fairness to Melanie, I don’t really think she’s just out to destroy Sen. Lapid in this recent all-out war that she declared against her nemeses. I believe that she’s just fighting for what is right and fair for her son. Had she wanted to pulverize Lito Lapid, she could have done that during the campaign season. Probably – and I’m just saying this as an observer – everything was just a result of a miscommunication.
The good news is that the more delicious side issue – Melanie vs. Kris – should have been resolved by now after Kris apologized to Melanie last Sunday on The Buzz. Whew! What a relief that was because for a while there, everyone thought Kris was going to engage Melanie in another round of word war. Kris’ statements on The Buzz, however, spawned yet another round of showbiz issues – about the possibility of her being part of the Lapid family soon. (I hope I got it right because when she began talking about this new issue in her life, I was still recovering from the shock of her apology – and after getting so confused, what with me also switching to rival S-Files where Melanie talked some more about the controversy.)
Well, that was showbiz last weekend. I wonder what new scandal will crop up this week.
The Barretto family feud? Who remembers that now? In show business where something new happens every minute, that’s as stale as yesterday’s bread.