The end of the year is upon us.
2024 is another year when we connected with our favorite stars. We cheered for them as they celebrated their wins, cried with them as they shared their woes, and laughed with them—or sometimes jeered—as controversies about them unraveled.
These stories all fall, fortunately and unfortunately, under the all-encompassing word ENTERTAINMENT.
Here are some of the most talked-about entertainment stories in 2024.
JANUARY: karla’s house, two weddings, and a feud
We were still reeling from the Kathryn Bernardo-Daniel Padilla breakup at the start of the year.
On January 18, reports appeared about Karla Estrada, Daniel’s mother, putting their family home in Quezon City in the market.
The rumor swirling around this was that Karla was selling the dream home Daniel had given her, which was also generally known as their first permanent home, because of money issues.
The actress-TV host denied this, saying she just wanted to move to the south of the Metro.
On January 29, Kathryn was sighted jogging with Jericho Rosales in Marikina. A netizen had taken a selfie with them and posted it on Facebook.
Talk was that the Kapamilya actor was interested in courting Kathryn. The Kapamilya actress denied this, saying this was just a friendly outing.
Other stories also marked the first month of 2024.
On January 12, Bubble Gang star Valeen Montenegro tied the knot with Riel Manuel. The good-looking couple held their wedding ceremony at Santuario de San Antonio Parish in Forbes Park, Makati City.
Then followed the wedding of Benjamin Alves and long-time girlfriend Chelsea Robato. The handsome couple was married on January 28, also at the Santuario de San Antonio Parish.
On January 27, Tom Rodriguez finally returned to the Philippines after nearly two years of residing in the United States. The Kapuso actor left the country in 2022 when his marriage to Carla Abellana abruptly ended just months after their wedding.
January 27 was also the day Claudine Barretto revealed at Gladys Reyes’s birthday party that she had a beef with former Ang TV co-star Angelu de Leon.
In an interview, the drama actress said she was displeased with Angelu’s past comments about the Barrettos’ family problems. Before this, the public—and even Angelu—were unaware of Claudine’s active dislike.
The month ended with the sad story of the death of Katrina Halili’s boyfriend, Jeremy Guiab. The former politician from Lanao del Sur died from a heart attack on January 28. He was 53.
FEBRUARY: BEA-DOMINIC BREAKUP, zanjoe-ria wedding, jaclyn’s death
Another breakup news dominated February.
On February 11, Bea Alonzo and Dominic Roque confirmed rumors of their breakup with the upload of the same statement on their separate social media accounts. The two had widely-publicized plans to wed this year.
“After much thought, consideration, and care, we have mutually decided to amicably end our engagement,” their statement said.
Despite the confirmation, fans continued to speculate about the cause of the breakup, with one camp saying it was Bea’s unreasonable demands for a grand wedding (eventually proven untrue), and one camp saying it was Dominic’s other liaisons on the side (never proven).
Other showbiz news hit the headlines on this month.
February 3, showbiz mourned the news of Deo Endrinal’s passing. The veteran ABS-CBN executive—acknowledged as the creative genius behind many blockbuster TV shows of the Kapamilya network, including the FPJ revivals starring Coco Martin—died of multiple organ failure.
Next came the photo that angered netizens.
February 22, on her social media account, Mariel Rodriguez uploaded a picture of herself having a glutathione-drip treatment inside the office of her husband, Senator Robin Padilla.
Netizens criticized Mariel for what they justifiably called improper use of Senate property—in other words, of property paid for with people’s taxes.
Just as offensive to netizens was the move of the OPM quartet, the 4th Impact, to solicit money from the public to build a farm for their 200 shih tzus.
February 28, the singing sisters created a GoFundme to raise the funds.
Alarmed citizens accused the 4th Impact of animal cruelty, questioning why they had not spayed or neutered their dogs, as is generally advised.
In March, netizens couldn’t stop chattering about the plagiarism issue hounding Shaira Moro.
This was after Australian singer Lenka took legal action on March 19, following netizens alerting her that her song “Trouble is a Friend” sounded like Shaira’s song “Selos.”
A number of Filipino netizens began calling Shaira a copycat. Eventually, Shaira’s record label, AHS Channel, apologized and took down “Selos” from its YouTube channel.
Later, other netizens would reveal that three of the Bangsamoro singer’s songs may have been copied from Indonesian music.
Meanwhile, netizens were abuzz with the confirmation of a breakup. Sarah Lahbati confirmed, almost casually in a March 1 interview, that she had officially split from husband Richard Gutierrez.
“I mean there’s nothing to hide and I think it’s pretty clear to the public,” she said in a statement.
Rumors of the Sarah-Richard breakup started in December of 2024.
Other big showbiz stories in March involved a wedding and the passing of another major celebrity.
On March 23, Ria Atayde and Zanjoe Marudo were married in a civil ceremony in Quezon City. The wedding reception of the celebrity couple included friends and family, including Arjo Atayde, Maine Mendoza, Enchong Dee, and Alexa Ilacad.
APRIL: it’s showtime on gma-7, ANGELINE WEDDING, FLOY’S DEATH
In showbiz this is what can be called a historic occasion. The flagship noontime variety-and-game show of the Kapamilya network was now being seen at the rival Kapuso network!
“We are making history today on It’s Showtime,” as co-host Anne Curtis said in the April 6 episode.
Host Vice Ganda called it the “pinakamatinding plot twist ng dekada.”
Not to forget, of course, that this would not have happened if the playing field had remained equal. As it is, former President Rodrigo Duterte, through his allies in the Lower House, denied ABS-CBN of its franchise, killing the network, and leaving the field of free TV for GMA-7 to dominate.
Also in April, another wedding and death happened.
On April 25, Angeline Quinto tied the knot with non-showbiz partner Nonrev Daquina at the iconic Quiapo Church.
Celebrity attendees included Vice Ganda, Sarah Geronimo, Regine Velasquez, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Martin Nievera, Vicki Belo, and Boy Abunda.
On April 27, the industry mourned the death of playwright and director Floy Quintos—knowns as a superior talent by those who know his work on television and the stage— who succumbed to a heart attack at 63 years of age.
MAY: bea and sharon sue cristy, eva daren-famas issue, nash-mika wedding
May was full of news about lawsuits.
On May 2, Bea Alonzo filed cyberlibel complaints against Cristy Fermin and Ogie Diaz, as well as their co-hosts on their online shows. The Kapuso actress filed the complaint in Quezon City.
According to the actress’s lawyer, the complaints were the offshoot of Cristy’s and Ogie’s defamatory public statements against Bea.
Eight days later, on May 10, celebrity couple Sharon Cuneta and Kiko Pangilinan also sued Cristy Fermin for cyberlibel. The Megastar and the former senator filed their complaint against the veteran showbiz columnist in Makati City.
In an interview, Kiko said they filed the complaints to make Cristy stop defaming them. “Sabi nga natin na, yes, we are public figures, but we also have rights,” said the lawyer-politician.
Another showbiz issue that sent tabloids abuzz was the supposed mistreatment of Eva Darren during the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS) ceremony of May 26.
According to reports, the veteran actress was supposed to present an award, but she never got to step onstage and was replaced by a newbie singer.
Eva’s peers in the industry criticized FAMAS for the incident; the FAMAS management issued an apology.
It was also on May 26 when some Pinoys spotted Richard Gutierrez with Barbie Imperial in South Korea. The celebrity couple’s photos were posted on Facebook.
The person posting the photos had asked if she could have a photo with Richard and Barbie together. Barbie allegedly said no, with the netizen getting it as the actress could not be photographed with the married actor. Netizens speculated on whether the two were already a couple by then.
May also featured another celebrity wedding and another passing.
On May 18, former Goin’ Bulilit stars Nash Aguas and Mika dela Cruz were wed in Tagaytay, in intimate rites and reception with only 30 guests.
Controversy hounded two big influencers in June.
On June 15, popular vloggers Rosmar Tan and Rendon Labador faced persona non-grata calls from residents of Coron in Palawan, after the two figured in a heated argument with government employees there.
In a video that went viral, Rosmar and Rendon were seen in a heated argument with the employees. Reports state that the two influencers, along with their teams, confronted the municipal goverment staff after receiving criticism that they were simply using the people of Coron for their videos.
Rosmar and Rendon did go to Coron to give away food and cash prizes, but they had not coordinated with the place’s officials.
In the end, Rosmar and Rendon apologized to the citizens of Coron for what netizens deemed to be arrogant and entitled behavior.
On June 12, Xian Lim made the clarification that it was Kim Chiu who had asked to break up with him. Before this, fans had given him the bad eye for supposedly leaving Kim.
“To be completely honest, I wasn’t the one who engaged in the separation. Yun lang po siya. It’s that simple. I wasn’t the one who initiated the breakup,” he told TV host Boy Abunda.
On June 29, Kris Aquino revealed that she was in a relationship with a Filipino doctor.
In an interview with Ogie Diaz, the Queen of All Media also said that her relationship makes her think she can come back to the Philippines despite her auto-immune illnesses.
“He’s part of the reason why I’m confident na pwede akong umuwi kasi alam ko there’s someone who will help in taking care of me,” Kris said.
Another wedding marked this month. It was the ceremony between Carlo Aquino and Charlie Dizon in Silang, Cavite. The secret wedding on June 9 was a surprise to fans.
Celebrity guests included Charo Santos, Alexa Ilacad, Kaila Estrada, Elisse Joson, Loisa Andalio, and Belle Mariano.
A major scandal rocked showbiz near the end of July, when rumors surfaced of an actor being sexually assaulted at the GMA Gala, which happened on July 20.
On July 31, Niño Muhlach posted cryptic and threatening messages on his Facebook account, seemingly confirming that it was his son, Sparkle artist Sandro Muhlach, who was the subject of the rumors.
On the same day, Sandro’s stepmother, Diane Tupaz, posted words asking for justice.
The following month, Sandro himself confirmed the news when he filed a complaint against two GMA-7 independent contractors, Jojo Nones and Richard Cruz.
The two have issued their court affidavits and, according to their lawyer, have cast doubts on Sandro’s account.
Read: GMA-7 names “independent contractors” in Sandro Muhlach incident
Other showbiz headlines this month included a rocky TV comeback, an infidelity scandal, and a secret child reveal.
On July 15, Willie Revillame finally returned to television via TV5’s Wil To Win. But the audience reception seemed lukewarm, with viewers saying the veteran TV host seemed out of his element.
Indeed, one of his outbursts on the show immediately went viral. This happened on just the third episode, aired July 17, when cameras caught him publicly berating his co-hosts and the show’s staff because of production mistakes.
“Maawa naman kayo sa akin. Ako pa bang mag-iisip niyan? Dyusko naman!” he exclaimed live on the show.
Read: Willie Revillame, nagreklamong nahihirapan na sa Wil To Win
Meanwhile, on July 15, John Estrada was spotted dancing and drinking with a woman at a bar in Boracay. Rumors swirled that the actor had already separated from his wife, beauty queen Priscilla Meirelles, and was now involved with a woman identified as Lily Hallman.
Read: Priscilla, ibinuking kung sino ang kasama ni John sa Boracay
The next day, the actor said on social media that he and Priscilla “have mutually agreed to take a break.”
He also denied he was in a relationship with the woman seen with him.
Read: John Estrada confirms marital issue with Priscilla Meirelles
Just hours later, however, Priscilla answered her husband’s comments also through social media. She said they were not on a break of any kind.
“We were married when I left the Philippines,” she wrote, “and we remain married as of this time,” said the Brazilian beauty queen.
Read: Priscilla Meirelles reacts to husband John Estrada’s statement
The last showbiz issue to hit readers happened on July 19, when Nadia Montenegro admitted that the father of her 17-year-old daughter Sophia was no other than Baron Geisler.
In an interview with TV host Boy Abunda, Nadia made the revelation, adding that Sophia knows that Baron is her father and that they have never lost contact.
Despite this, she said, Baron insisted that this be kept secret.
Read: Nadia Montenegro finally admits to having a daughter with Baron Geisler
AUGUST: YULO FAMILY FEUD, MOTHER LILY’S DEATH, jericho-janine romance
In August, conversation online was dominated by issues around Carlos Yulo and his family.
Carlos made history as the first Filipino to win two Olympic golds, which he earned at the men’s floor exercise and men’s vault competitions of the 2024 Summer Olympics in August, in Paris, France.
The historic and celebrated feat was marred, however, by the controversy surrounding his rift with his family, particularly with his mother, Angelica Yulo, who first made the family squabble known through her own personal posts.
Read: Carlos Yulo’s gymnastics journey, family, love: A timeline
Netizens began talking about this issue after they noted how Angelica’s posts on Facebook were not supportive of Carlos.
The rift was confirmed, also by Angelica, who held interviews and a press conference saying that the misunderstanding between her and Caloy stemmed from two issues: money and his relationship with his girlfriend, the influencer and singer Chloe San Jose.
Read: Carlos Yulo breaks silence on money issue with his mother
On August 4, a controversy brewed at the Cinemalaya Film Festival, as its officers announced on August 4 that they had cancelled the screening of Lost Sabungeros, a documentary produced by GMA Pictures.
They simply cited security concerns.
Cinephiles were unmoved and called out the decision as no-more-and-no-less than censorship.
Lost Sabungeros in fact deals with the sensitive topic of sabungeros kidnapped, and possibly eliminated, by some gambling bigwig.
Read: Docu film Lost Sabungeros, kanselado ang screening sa Cinemalaya
This was not the only bad news for cinema fans on August 4, as news of the death of Mother Lily Yu Monteverde hit the airwaves that day.
The Regal Films matriarch—a showbiz industry icon and the producer of some of the most iconic films in Philippine cinema—was 85.
Read: Lily Monteverde, Regal matriarch and showbiz icon, dies at 84
Not all showbiz news, however, were sad on this month.
On August 13, fans were delighted to hear Jericho Rosales confirm that he was officially dating Janine Gutierrez.
He revealed during a presscon for Lavender Fields, their teleserye currently on Netflix, that their friendship blossomed from a work meeting that ended with a date at a Japanese restaurant.
Read: Jericho Rosales admits to dating Janine Gutierrez
SEPTEMBER: KEN ESTAFA CASE, JAMES-LIZA FALLOUT, ricardo’s arrest
Kapuso fans were shocked in early September by news of Ken Chan’s sudden departure from the Philippines.
At first, netizens were unsure why the actor had left his showbiz commitments without prior notice. He had abruptly left his role in Abot-Kamay Na Pangarap and was missing in action in All-Out Sundays.
Later, news came that Ken was facing a syndicated estafa charge and that a warrant was already out for his arrest.
Read: Ken Chan charged with syndicated estafa over P14M investment deal
Another controversial issue in September was the breakdown of the professional relationship among James Reid, Jeff Oh, and Liza Soberano.
James and Jeff were business partners for Careless Music, a record label and talent management company that started in 2017.
Liza joined Careless in June 2022.
In an interview in the middle of September, James revealed that he had taken Jeff out of the company back in July.
The termination, he said, was due to Jeff’s issues with his Philippine work visa, as well as his various deals that were fraudulent and which he hadn’t revealed to James.
The former Pinoy Big Brother winner also said that Jeff owed him 100 Million pesos.
James also revealed that Liza had parted ways with Careless also in July. The reason given was that the former Kapamilya actress now wanted to pursue a career in Hollywood.
Read: CONFIRMED: Liza Soberano is no longer with Careless Music
Three other issues made headlines in September.
One is when singer Arnel Pineda offered to quit his position as frontman of the American band Journey. Apparently frustrated with a bad performance, in a September 22 Facebook post he said he may quit the band.
But in the comments, fans and bandmates expressed support for him, and Arnel has decided to stay.
Read: Arnel Pineda offers to quit Journey following fans’ criticisms
In September 19 came news that character actor Ricardo Cepeda had made bail. He had been incarcerated in Cagayan in October 2023 because of an estafa case.
Read: Ricardo Cepeda: from incarceration to prison release
On September 8, fans celebrated the wedding of KaladKaren to British fiancé Luke Wrightson. The trans actress-TV host was wed in the United Kingdom, witnessed by celebrity friends Karla Estrada and Jake Ejercito.
After the momentous occasion, Kaladkaren also changed her screen name to Jervi Wrightson.
Read: Kaladkaren now Mrs. Luke Wrightson!
OCTOBER: RITA-ARCHIE legal battle, JULIE ANNE’S DANCING QUEEN
More controversy in the Kapuso stables made headlines in October.
On October 30, Rita Daniela filed a complaint of acts of lasciviousness against Widows’ War co-star Archie Alemania.
In her affidavit, she stated that the comedian sexually violated her after a party that they both attended.
Archie allegedly forced himself upon Rita after he volunteered to drive her home following a cast party at Bea Alonzo’s house.
Witnesses say that during the party, Archie had already made offhand remarks that left Rita, and even Bea, uncomfortable.
Read: Rita Daniela details text exchange with Archie Alemania
Julie Anne San Jose is another Kapuso star who had to face a difficult situation this October, after videos of her performance in a church went viral.
Netizens criticized the singer-actress for performing “Dancing Queen” at the altar of the Nuestra Señora del Pilar Parish in Mindoro on October 10.
Julie Anne immediately issued an apology, saying that the performance was a part of a fundraising effort for the church and its community, and that the program had been approved by her management team.
Read: Julie Anne San Jose, na-bash sa pagpe-perform sa simbahan
Andrea Brillantes was another actress that got into hot water this month, after she was accused of using her star status to get special treatment at Olivia Rodrigo’s concert on October 5.
Netizens and concert attendees said the Kapamilya actress skipped the long lines to the concert. Andrea refuted this, saying she “lined up very early.”
Read: Andrea Brillantes denies early access to GUTS concert tickets
NOVEMBER: NERI NAIG ARREST, AI-AI & GERALD SPLIT, DOMINIC-SUE ROMANCE
The biggest story in November was the surprising arrest and incarceration of Neri Naig for syndicated estafa and violations of the Securities Regulation Code.
Police arrested the businesswoman and former actress in Pasay City on November 23.
In a statement, Neri’s husband, musician Chito Miranda, defended his wife and said the police should go after the real perpetrator of the violations. He named the owner of a beauty salon chain as the person responsible for swindling the victims.
Neri’s lawyers were able to file a motion to quash her warrant of arrest. She was released from jail on December 4.
Read: EXPLAINER: Neri Naig’s syndicated estafa and securities code violations
In another story, netizens felt sorry for Ai-Ai delas Alas after she confirmed on November 11 that she and husband Gerald Sibayan had split.
In a TV interview with Boy Abunda, the comedienne revealed that the discord stemmed from Gerald’s desire to have a kid.
“Sinabi niya na gusto niya magkaanak at hindi na siya happy,” said Ai-Ai.
Read: Ai-Ai delas Alas confirms breakup with husband Gerald Sibayan
Other headlines made waves in the entertainment world this month.
On November 8, a viral video showed Dominic Roque and Sue Ramirez kissing in Siargao. Netizens speculated that they were already an item. A month later, both Sue and Dominic confirmed their relationship.
Read: Sue Ramirez spotted kissing Dominic Roque; are they an item?
Nadine Lustre faced backlash for promoting gambling. On November 16, the actress posted a photo of her holding a phone with a gambling app on the screen.
Netizens’ reactions were negative. They said they were turned off by Nadine’s action because she had previously stated that she carefully considered the brands she would promote.
Read: Netizens react to Nadine Lustre promoting online casino
With Tom Rodriguez, fans were delighted when he revealed that he had a four-month-old son with his non-showbiz partner of two years.
He also said that his son makes him happy.
“He is my constant source of inspiration. I keep saying before, tumatanda ako, but after this I feel younger, more vibrant,” Tom said in an interview.
Read: Tom Rodriguez, inamin ang pagkakaroon ng four-month-old baby boy
DECEMBER: maris-anthony affair, GARY V’S HEALTH ISSUE
Then there is December, the last month of the year.
The biggest showbiz issue this month was the Maris Racal – Anthony Jennings cheating scandal.
Evening of December 3, Jam Villanueva, Anthony’s non-showbiz ex-girlfriend, uploaded screenshots on her social media account exposing the cheating that she alleged happened between the two Kapamilya actors.
Read: Anthony, Jamela, Maris: The unfinished tale of a messy breakup
A firestorm immediately ensued. Netizens were quick to crucify Maris and Anthony.
The MaThon loveteam released separate apology videos on December 6. Netizens’ dissatisfation with this was that, for whatever crisis-management reasons, Maris seemed to have been given the better script and Anthony was clearly made the fall guy.
Then they both went MIA, skipping promotions for their upcoming film with Vice Ganda, And The Breadwinner Is… The move is right in the books of crisis management: do not be seen together, do not court attention, let it blow over, let other issues bury yours, and then resurface at the right time.
Read: Maris Racal breaks silence after revelations of Anthony’s ex
Anthony attended the Christmas party for Incognito, his upcoming Kapamilya action drama, on December 20. Maris was nowhere to be seen.
Read: Anthony Jennings apologizes to Maris Racal, Jamela Villanueva
Another showbiz issue to hit the month was the ongoing divorce process between Rufa Mae Quinto and her husband, Filipino-American Trevor Magallanes.
It was Trevor that revealed the split via an Instagram post on December 13.
“I want to make myself clear that Rufa Mae and I are in the process of a divorce. You may be aware divorce can be very devastating to the children and also the parents. That being said, my marriage has been a shit show and I am sorry for that,” he said in a statement on Instagram.
Rufa Mae chose not to comment. Instead, she posted positive quotes on her social media accounts.
Read: Trevor Magallanes reveals ongoing divorce process with Rufa Mae
On Friday, December 20, fans worried because Gary Valenciano had to cut his concert short because of health scares.
According to his wife and manager, Angeli Pangilinan, the singer “ingested something and vomited so many times.” He still chose to continue the concert, but he was battling dehydration so he had to be rushed to the hospital.
Thankfully, Gary V quickly recovered and was able to push through with Day 2 of the concert on December 22.
Read: What Gary Valenciano tells crowd before ending his concert
Another triumphant moment for Filipino singers came with Sofronio Vasquez. On December 11, the former “Tawag ng Tanghalan” finalist was announced as winner of the 26th season of The Voice.
The Misamis Occidental-native, who could not find his mark in the spotlight in his native country, migrated to the United States to work as a dental assistant. He thanked his fans for the support.
On Instagram he said, “Dreams really do come true.”
Read: Sofronio Vasquez hailed as first Asian winner of The Voice USA
Rounding up the happy showbiz moments for December was the wedding of Jose Manalo and Mergene Maranan. The Eat Bulaga! host tied the knot with the former EB Babes dancer in Boracay.
Celebrity guests included Alden Richards, and Jose’s noontime show co-hosts Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, Maine Mendoza, Wally Bayola, Allan K, Paolo Ballesteros, Ryzza Mae Dizon, and Miles Ocampo.
Read: Jose Manalo, Mergene Maranan now officially husband and wife
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