Heart Evangelista did not hold back as she opened up about friendships, bullying and personalities who project an image of supporting other women online but allegedly behave differently behind the scenes.
During her guest appearance on ‘Your Honor,’ hosted by Chariz Solomon and Buboy Villar, Evangelista recalled experiences with people whom she described as appearing supportive and promoting “girl power,” but who allegedly made disparaging remarks about her.
“Sometimes ‘yung pinakamukhang, parang they’re so supportive with one another or they’re like girl power eme eme na mga girls, sila pa ‘yung pinakamasama sa lahat. I remember, one time—and this is already like not very far ago—sila din ‘yung mga nanlalait sa’kin ngayon. Nilalait nila ‘ko, I don’t know why,” she said.
Evangelista recalled one encounter in which a woman allegedly complimented her dress before pointing out that it was on sale and laughing with others.
“Oh, I love your dress! It’s on sale, right?” Evangelista quoted the woman as saying.
The actress and fashion personality questioned why wearing something bought on sale should be considered embarrassing.
“First and foremost, anong problema na sale? Bakit, ano ba damit mo? Naka-Schiaparelli ka ba? Eh pangarap mo nga lang mag-Schiaparelli, on sale?” she fired back.
Evangelista did not identify the personalities she was referring to.
She said the experience should serve as a reminder for social media users to be discerning about the personalities they admire online, noting that someone’s public persona may not necessarily reflect how they behave privately.
“Yung blind item ko is like a lesson also that you really have to decipher who you look up to on social media. And if it’s too good to be true, most of the time, it’s not true. And usually, kung sino pa ‘yung madadak na parang trying to be one with people, ‘yun ‘yung actually totoong bully because they’re not that in person,” she said.
The conversation also turned to Evangelista’s past friendships and how success helped her determine who genuinely belonged in her circle.
“When you reach, sometimes, the ultimate high of success, du’n mo mararamdaman kung sino talaga ang mga kaibigan mo. May mga kaibigan ako na ginagawa kong anak, ganyan,” she shared.
Evangelista said there was even a time when she would shoulder her friends’ substantial debts because she considered them family.
“Pati ‘yung mga utang nila na mga two million, babayaran ko. Oo, Dumating ako sa point na ganu’n,” she said.
“Pero for me at that time, those aren’t red flags. That’s what family is about,” she added.
She also revealed that she once went as far as kneeling before a friend at a party in an attempt to save their relationship, despite believing that she was being made to look like the villain.
“Oo, meron akong niluhuran na kaibigan. To feed your ego, for people to believe that I’m the evil one? ‘I just love you so much I’ll let this one go, just love me back.’ Ganyan ako,” Evangelista recalled.
She said some of her friends later questioned why she had allowed herself to go that far.
“And I have friends that tell me, ‘Ang tanga-tanga mo, bakit ka lumuhod?’” she said.
When Solomon asked whether she had knowingly kept people around despite believing they were being fake toward her, Evangelista replied, “Oo naman!”
“If you want to say things about me, hanapan mo ako ng dumi. Ilagay kita sa microscope, mas madami mahahanap sa ‘yo na bacteria, flesh-eating bacteria!” she quipped.
Evangelista also had strong words for influencers who, in her view, become arrogant after gaining popularity.
“Hindi ko ma-take kasi ‘yung ibang influencers na kung umasta, ang yabang mo, sis! Ang yabang mo! I hate that. Kung umawra, tapos biglang kemerut. Oh my God! I cannot!” she said.
She reminded personalities enjoying success that popularity can quickly change and urged them to remain grounded regardless of their status.
“No matter how successful you are… matuto kang lumingon kung saan ka nanggaling. Maging humble ka, ipako mo ‘yung dalawa mong paa sa lapag. Wala akong pakialam kung viral ka ngayon, ang bilis ng ikot ng mundo. ‘Wag masyadong malaki ang ulo. Maging mabait ka sa lahat ng tao,” she said.
Evangelista added a warning about how people encountered on the way to success could be the same people one meets when circumstances change.
“Kung sino makakasalubong mo pataas, ‘yun din sis ang makakasalubong mo pababa. Kaya maging mabait ka sa lahat, ha,” she said.
