Tempest in ‘Kapuso’ land?

Is there trouble brewing between top stars of the “Kapuso” network? If newspaper and Internet reports are to be believed, there seems to be a turf war going on between two camps of GMA 7 artists–on one side, the camp of Richard Gutierrez, the network’s premiere talent, and on the other, the group of Aljur Abrenica, the station’s rising male star.

The conflict was allegedly rooted on a supposed altercation between the main protagonists at a popular bar in Quezon City last month. In this incident first reported on Philippine Entertainment Portal, Richard approached Aljur and allegedly hit the latter in the head two times. This stunned Aljur, who stood up, faced Richard, and asked him, “What’s your problem?” Richard responded, “You, what’s your problem?” Cooler heads intervened and avoided what could have been a major incident.

Some believe the incident had something to do with both actors’ links to Jewel Mische, another GMA 7 contract artist who was Richard’s co-star in “Kamandag” and Aljur’s batchmate in the reality talent program, “StarStruck.”

In a statement given to PEP, Richard flatly denied hitting Aljur, but confirmed he “politely” asked the latter to leave the table they were occupying because he was “uninvited.” He also denied that Jewel was the cause of the altercation. The report said the entire second floor of the bar had been occupied by Richard and his circle of friends.

Part of the statement read: “Time management is what stars whose schedules are busy need to master, for it is during these moments of privacy that a star can unwind, relax, and de-stress.

“Unfortunately, however, a star like Mr. Aljur Abrenica, an acquaintance, does not seem to understand that stars need space too, and barging in on our table unexpectedly, sitting down uninvited, and partaking of the drinks freely, does not speak well of a person’s social graces…”

Aljur, for his part, broke his silence in the recent launch of “Luna Mystica,” which stars Richard’s “Codename: Asero” co-star Heart Evangelista. In the press conference, Aljur said there was “no truth” to Richard’s version of the incident. While he confirmed a part of Richard’s statement that said that the altercation did not have anything to do with Jewel, Aljur revealed that he and Richard “were not okay” without giving more details.   
 
For now, it was apparent that GMA Artist Center, the talent management arm of GMA 7, had been taking a lot of effort to appease both camps and refusing to make statements on the incident. But by the looks of it, lines have been drawn and the war may be far from over. 

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