'Young singer' speaks out on FAMAS-Eva Darren controversy, boyfriend asks public not to bully her
Sheena Palad, the "young singer" who replaced veteran actress Eva Darren as presenter during FAMAS 2024, has broken her silence on the issue.
In a social media post, the performer shared her side of the story as she opened up about being "harassed, maligned, called names, and thrown offensive accusations" on social media after what happened. In the video, she's with her boyfriend, singer Johann Enriquez, who appealed to the public not to bully Palad amid the controversy.
"Hi, everybody! I am Sheena Palad, the 'young singer' who was mentioned alongside Mr Tirso Cruz III. And we (Johann Enriquez and I) would like to give our statement regarding the situation," she wrote in the caption of her IG post. "I am being harassed, maligned, called names and thrown offensive accusations today online and ALL I CAN SAY IS… Buti na lang may Lord Jesus Christ ako sa buhay ko."
"Honestly, Hindi ko kaya 'to! It's also a lesson for everybody to not QUICKLY judge a person. And makes me think too that what I'm going through doesn't even come close to what my Savior had to go through when He suffered and died on the cross for me. Thank you po!" she continued.
'I was just following instructions'
In the video, Palad said she was initially "chosen" and "called by the organizer to perform for the dinner pleasure," where she performed two songs.
She recalled changing her outfit after the segment and being asked a "big favor" from the staff while she was on standby. "Sabi niya, 'Can you present the awards?' Sabi ko, 'Okay, sige. No problem,'" she said.
"That's it. 'Yun lang po 'yung alam ko. Hindi ko po alam na si Ms. Eva 'yung magpepresent po," she said, stressing she was "clueless" and "unprepared" at the time.
"Actually nung time na 'yun, I was clueless. Hindi po kasi ako nanonood ng awards night because I was in the holding area, hindi ko po alam kung paano magpresent," explained Palad. "I was not prepared, 'di ko man lang nabasa 'yung script. Wala, as in, wala po talaga kasi before the production, bumababa na 'yung dating presenter, kami na po 'yung sumunod, ang instruction lang po sakin is 'Sheena, you're gonna present after you sing the production number.'"
"I was just following instructions," she continued. "I hope that you are enlightened with the situation."
Enriquez, for his part, urged the public to stop bullying Palad after the incident as she's "very much in pain right now" due to "all the bashing and all the hate you are throwing at her."
"Ako po, bilang isa sa mga taong nagmamahal kay Sheena, nakikiusap po ako na kung pwede po na tigilan na 'yung pangja-judge, panghe-hate, pangbabash kay Sheena kasi wala talaga siyang kinalaman sa nangyari," he emphasized.
"She was just following instructions, she was just doing her job, and 'yun lang, huwag na lang po tayong manghusga agad ng tao kasi kawawa naman yung mahal ko," she said.
On Monday, May 27, Darren's son Fernando De La Peña aired his frustration over the FAMAS 2024 organizers after Darren was dropped at the last minute as presenter alongside veteran actor Tirso Cruz III. He said the public relations officer of the FAMAS production staff, who had been in constant communication with Darren before the event, "had absolutely no explanations to offer, just a thousand apologies."
"He confessed not knowing what happened and wasn't sure why there was a last-minute change," De La Peña said of the FAMAS staff, describing what happened to his mother as "rude," "disrespectful," "unethical," and "unprofessional to say the least."
Later in the day, FAMAS issued an official statement expressing its "sincerest apologies" to Darren and acknowledged that she was part of the program to present Special Citations with Cruz.
"But considering that we were running a live show, and due to myriads of people present in last night's festivities, the production team was not able to locate Ms. Darren," they said. "This was indeed a setback in the live show and a negligence on the part of the team."
The organizers pointed out that "this was not intentional and purely a misjudgment."
Darren and her family have accepted the apology of the FAMAS 2024 organizers. De La Peña, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, May 28, said they "know that Mr. Tirso Cruz III (Veteran actor loved by all, donor of many camping tents when I was a Boy Scout in grade school) and the PR Officer of FAMAS Mr. Renz Spangler (An incredible author and lover of classic cinema), have nothing to do with what happened and just the same, were casualties of someone’s questionable backstage judgment."
He also "humbly, personally" recommended two things for the next FAMAS awards night: "Please stick to the script… and maybe a nice pair of eyeglasses for all in charge."
FAMAS, the country's oldest existing film industry award-giving body and dubbed the local Oscars, recognizes achievements in Philippine cinema for a calendar year.
This year's big winner was the horror movie Mallari, which bagged seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Piolo Pascual.