Talent manager Shirley Kuan said she initially had promised Bea Alonzo to keep quiet amid the controversy surrounding the actress’ canceled wedding in Spain as well as her resignation.
However, she decided to break her silence after a call from a fellow talent manager last Friday, August 21, which became the “third trigger point” that pushed her to defend herself.
"A friend of mine, who is also a talent manager, said she is friends with a certain individual — and this is unbelievable — asked her, 'Kaya mo ba awayin si SK?' And she said, 'Bakit? Hindi na nga siya nagsasalita. Kilala ko siya… She called for the truth so I gave her the truth. And I told her everything and she confronted that person,” Kuan said in an interview. “Last Friday was too much! I think that's a bit too much! And I told Bea, I texted her, "Bea, I already resigned. Aren't you guys happy? What do you guys still want.”
Shirley Kuan denies involvement in Bea Alonzo wedding cancellation, prenup
Reports and speculations circulating online had linked Kuan to the cancellation of Alonzo’s wedding in Spain. Kuan said she did not address the allegations at the time because Alonzo had asked her to keep quiet to prevent the issue from escalating.
“Noong lumabas article na ako daw ang reason or culprit or meddler kaya na-cancel wedding in Spain. Immediately when I saw it — What is this? She said she did not know. We both know the truth. But sabi niya agad sa 'kin ‘SK, promise you won’t say anything kasi ayoko lumaki pa.’ Siyempre pagbibigyan mo alaga mo na heartbroken. You try to accommodate her wishes, so I kept quiet,” she recalled.
Bea Alonzo’s manager Shirley Kuan resigns
When she resigned, Kuan stressed she again sought to clarify Alonzo knew she had not been involved in the wedding fallout.
“Noong kinausap ko si Bea when I resigned, I just want to make it clear malinaw na hindi ako nagpa-cancel. She said ‘no — hindi.’ Kahit in jest, did I tell you baka nakalimutan ko lang — she said ‘no, never.’ Meron ako resibo, I can prove hindi ako kasali diyan,” Kuan recalled.
Kuan admitted she felt the actress failed to defend her.
“Bea said [when I resigned] ‘how did it come to this?’ I said I don’t know. I have no idea bakit ako sinisiraan non-stop. You never defended me. I did not mean in public, we know hindi siya mahilig magpa-interview. Kahit privately sana. Sa akin, you could have told whoever that is the truth. Wala akong alam d'yan, hindi ako nakialam ever,” she reasoned.
She went on: “I promised her that I will not make another announcement about the resignation. But I said, one more, tirahin pa ako isa, you are giving me no choice but to defend myself… The least she could have done was to tell these people to stop. Because she knew the truth.”
Kuan said she did not hold Alonzo’s decision against her, but questioned why she continued to be portrayed as the “villain” even after her resignation.
“Ayaw tumigil. Lalo ako tinitira. Patindi na nang patindi. But because I promised her I kept quiet. But in other words she did not allow me to defend myself. I did not take it against her, at the time that is how she felt. Pero nang natuloy na — why am I still the villain. Wala naman ako ginawa. Finally, daw natuloy kasi hindi na nakialam si SK. Ginawa ako kontrabida,” she said.
ABS-CBN News has reached out to Alonzo’s management regarding Kuan’s statements, but they did not comment.