THIS MIGHT ruffle not a few feathers. However, the public should know exactly what transpired when I broke the news online on May 25 that Charice Pempengco was set to join the cast of the hit TV musical series, “Glee,” in the United States.
Earlier that evening, I asked Charice’s Philippine manager, Grace Mendoza, via text: “Is it true that Charice will be guesting on ‘Glee’?”
Two things prompted that question:
1) Charice had earlier dropped hints in a TV interview about a coming project, a “surprise” that would surely delight her fans. “In na in po ito ngayon [This is definitely in today],” she said. Pressed for more clues, Charice gave the word “show.”
2) Persistent comments on the Internet suggesting that Charice certainly fit “Glee’s” theme and the cast’s age group.
Mendoza responded with a phone call, saying it was “still confidential,” but that Charice might have already mentioned it to a television executive. Added Mendoza: “Alam mo na yung bata, baka sobrang na-excite [she’s young; she probably couldn’t contain her excitement].”
Shortly after the call, I sent Mendoza another SMS: “Charice giving hints on TV ... When can I make announcement with details? If she has told [TV exec], I might as well make a short announcement?”
Mendoza called again and clarified that she wasn’t sure exactly what Charice told the TV exec. But yes, she said, the “Glee” deal for the singer had been discussed [“napag-usapan na”] in the United States – not for a guest stint, in fact, but for a role as part of the cast.
No details for now
I could write about it, Mendoza said, but just as a “teaser” – no mention of, for instance, which “Glee” season, because she was not privy to those details.
I sent a one-sentence report to PDI Mobile Alerts: “The Philippines’ pride, international pop star Charice Pempengco, will soon join the cast of the hit US musical comedy-drama TV series ‘Glee.’”
JV Rufino, Mobile Alerts boss, asked who the source was. I told him it was Mendoza.
Next, I filed a longer report to INQUIRER.net, where I named and quoted my source. Unwittingly this would subsequently cause a serious, unexpected problem for Mendoza.
Early morning of May 26, the manager called me, sounding grim. She said Charice and (Charice’s) mom Raquel had phoned her earlier, very much alarmed by the news about “Glee.”
In the next several hours, Mendoza would call repeatedly, at one point to inform me that Charice’s handlers in the United States did not appreciate Philippine Daily Inquirer’s report.
It seemed to be a case of premature announcement – maybe something that preempted an organized publicity plan and timetable being hatched for the project?
No, Mendoza told me, it was more than that. It had become a major cause for worry because, she explained, Charice’s US management team felt the report would not only jeopardize the singer’s chances of landing a slot in “Glee,” but in fact, ruin her career.
That’s overreacting, I protested. How could a premature report about the TV show cause her client’s auspicious recording career to crash?
The next call from Mendoza was startling. She said Charice’s US manager, Marc Johnston, would soon send a statement denying that the singer was joining “Glee.” (Publicist Liz Rosenberg, who e-mailed Johnston’s statement, told me in a postscript: “If, in the future, you want to check on anything regarding Charice, please do not hesitate to contact me.”)
Meanwhile, Charice also denied the report on her Twitter account.
Mendoza implored me to do something. “Take it out [from your breaking news], please.” She sounded like she was in big trouble, something that the next call confirmed: “Now I am jobless,” she said in Filipino.
I asked, alarmed, “Are you sure?” Mendoza said Raquel had just posted a shout-out on her (Raquel’s) Facebook account, looking for a new local manager for her daughter.
Why did Charice, Johnston, and even Mendoza – through a phone interview on “The Buzz” and SNN” – have to issue a denial? Because it was too early in the game to make an announcement? Might the producers of “Glee” still change their minds?
Also on May 26, a US-based website said “a reliable source close to Pempengco” had confirmed that, “despite the denials, there was some truth to the report.” The source was quoted as saying that the singer was “set to audition” for “Glee” in New York this weekend.
Which implies that Mendoza, who said the “Glee” role was a done deal (“ayos na ’yan”), had lied. As it is, the manager – who has bagged several endorsement deals for her client and who has repeatedly said she considered Charice as her own child – has suffered rather unfairly.
In our succeeding phone conversation, Mendoza was crying: “It hurts,” she told me. “I was not a bad manager.”
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Let's examine 2 things mentioned in this article:
1. Earlier that evening, I asked Charice’s Philippine manager, Grace Mendoza, via text: “Is it true that Charice will be guesting on ‘Glee’?”
Shortly after the call, I sent Mendoza another SMS: “Charice giving hints on TV ... When can I make announcement with details? If she has told [TV exec], I might as well make a short announcement?”
Mendoza called again and clarified that she wasn’t sure exactly what Charice told the TV exec. But yes, she said, the “Glee” deal for the singer had been discussed [“napag-usapan na”] in the United States – not for a guest stint, in fact, but for a role as part of the cast.
2. I sent a one-sentence report to PDI Mobile Alerts: “The Philippines’ pride, international pop star Charice Pempengco, will soon join the cast of the hit US musical comedy-drama TV series ‘Glee.’”
Now if you read the full article above, the manager is taking the brunt of the effects of a premature report which clearly irked the artist's US handlers. And the reporter's acting like it had nothing to do with what he wrote.
Guh?!?! Read the two statements i highlighted. The manager said the glee stint "has been discussed" or "napag-usapan". Was it ever mentioned in that sentence that she was "soon to join"? I don't think so. Now look at what was published in the news. Now if you were a reader who chanced upon the article, you would have the understanding that she was indeed already joining the show.
Now ain't that article a very poor interpretation of what was actually said; and to think the wirter "quoted the sources". Wow.
And now the writer's talking like there wasn't anything wrong with the article.
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