IVANA Alawi set the record straight amid criticisms toward her recent vlog, stressing she asked for permission before featuring the individuals included in the video.
In the actress’ YouTube vlog shared last Nov. 30, she pretended to be a pregnant woman and asked for help from individuals she encountered while on the streets.
About a week after the vlog was shared, a certain Vio Javier, who claimed he was one of the individuals from whom Alawi asked for help in the video, appealed to the actress to remove clips of him from her vlog. Javier, through a post on his Facebook page, cited the apparent bashing he has been receiving for supposedly being disrespectful toward the actress when she was in disguise.
This elicited mixed reactions from netizens, which prompted Alawi to release a statement along with a photo of her and Javier.
“Matagal na po ako gumagawa ng street pranks. Alam ko na kailangan magpaalam palagi sa mga ipapakita ko na hindi naka-blur,” she said on her Facebook page on Sunday, Dec. 7, noting how she blurred in the vlog the faces of those who did not consent to be featured in it.
Alawi seemingly acknowledged Javier’s statement, albeit not making a mention of his name. She also clarified that the latter did not refuse to help her, and that another individual just offered to help her first.
“Marami po kaming raw footage nung Buntis Prank kung saan makikitang pumayag si kuya lumabas sa vlog ko,” she stated. “Pinaalam muna namin sa kanya ito bago kami umalis, at madami pa ang nangyari na hindi na namin sinama sa vlog.”
“Pinakita namin sa kanya yung raw footage at nakalimutan lang daw niya at humingi siya ngayon ng pasensiya,” she continued.
Alawi then addressed the public, “Paalala na din ito sa mga taong mahilig maniwala agad sa kung ano ang nakita sa social media. Tandaan po na laging may dalawang side ang kwento.”
Alawi’s recent vlog has so far earned over 7.2 million views and more than 339,000 likes on YouTube. (Anne Pasajol © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
