Remember the 2012 rom-com titled “Suddenly It’s Magic”? No? It was released years ago so we wouldn’t blame you. But here’s a refresher, it’s the Star Cinema movie starring Erich Gonzales and Mario Maurer. You know, the one that also had Kakai Bautista in it.
On Mar. 5, Bautista made an appearance on GMA’s “‘Mars Pa More.” In the episode, she was asked to finish statements for a game. The last and juiciest one being: “’Yung totoo, kung kaharap ko ngayon ang TOTGA or the one that got away ko, ang gusto kong sabihin sa kanya ay…”
“Dapat English eh. Charot! Baka hindi niya maintindihan ang Tagalog,” joked Bautista before answering. “Why didn’t you believe in me? It sums up all the kemerut, ganun.” The show’s hosts then asked her whether her TOTGA is a foreigner and someone they knew. Her reply? “Confirmed.”
It wasn’t that hard to guess who the mystery man is, considering how Bautista has opened up about her former friendship with Mario Maurer before on shows like “Tonight With Boy Abunda.” But it seems that Mario Maurer’s camp does not look back on this past with the same fondness. On Mar. 22, Pep reported that it received a copy of a letter from the legal counsel of Maurer’s management agency Kwaonhar Nine Nine Co., Ltd. addressed to Bautista’s manager, Freddie Bautista of Artist Gallery Management. The letter’s subject read: Demanding to Cease, Desist and Refrain from further use and reference of the name of Mario Maurer.
“We would like to confirm that all the statements made by Catherine ‘Kakai’ Bautista are hereby denied as the same are all false and untrue,” the agency stated. “By so using the name of our talent, Catherine ‘Kakai’ Bautista is improperly exploiting the name, image and reputation of Mario Maurer and his manager, and may be violating existing laws of the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Thailand.” It also threatened to sue and “claim for other damages and expenses incurred as a result of this matter.” Oof. You really have to be careful who you befriend.
A number of netizens reacted to the beef (if we can call it one). Some weren’t really sure as to why it’s trending but chimed that maybe it’s better not to dig up the past.
Others defended Bautista, saying that they were disappointed with Maurer’s camp. Some even claimed that the agency got it wrong—that by mentioning his name, Bautista isn’t damaging his reputation but keeping it alive. Now, that is a spicy take.
While Bautista has yet to respond to the allegation that her statements are untrue, she’s been posting unbothered™ beach photos with captions sans his name, ofc.
Art by Pammy Orlina
Follow Preen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Viber
Related Stories:
What you ought to do when in Thailand according to Mario Maurer
7 ultrapersonal Filipino podcasts for your weekday senti moments
Claudine Barretto calls out her baby daddy on Instagram
A timeline of the Kris Aquino vs Nicko Falcis feud