Rabiya Mateo is refusing to let bad rumors about her and her boyfriend Jeric Gonzales spread around. Case in point: Her recent clapback against a netizen who accused her and Jeric of getting unfair VIP treatment at a concert.
It all started when a fan page posted a so-called "blind item" alleging a celebrity couple to have exhibited a rude attitude during South Korean superstar IU's Manila concert. The concert was held last June 1, 2024, at the Philippine Arena.
READ ALSO: IU Serenades Filipino Fans With Sunkissed Lola's 'Pasilyo'
According to PEP.ph, the viral blind item post mentioned that the couple—a beauty queen and an actor—barged into the concert venue despite not having a concert ticket. Moreover, the post accused the couple of allegedly demanding to get VIP seats.
Rabiya Mateo strongly denies claims about alleged bad attitude at IU's Manila concert
As the fan page's post went viral, netizens had mixed reactions to it. Some easily believed it and jumped onto the hate train against the couple. Meanwhile, Rabiya and Jeric's followers defended them.
Fans were quick to address how the incident screamed inequality between celebrities and ordinary fans. However, Rabiya did not allow the issue to blow out of proportion. She took control of the situation, causing the fan page to issue an official statement a.k.a a public apology to Rabiya and Jeric.
A part of the page's statement read, "I deeply apologize for all the damage this may have caused you. [...] My mistake was posting it on this page without doing any FACT CHECK after hearing everything from the usher/staff."
Rabiya shared the statement on her social media accounts. There, she also expressed their side of the issue at hand. The beauty queen-actress made it clear that even if they are celebrities, they are no different from the non-celebrity fans who also strive to secure tickets for their fave idols.
She wrote, "We wanna clarify that the rumors circulating are not true. We bought the tickets for P12,000 each. Just like the rest of them. We worked very hard to afford the tickets and never demanded for any VIP treatment but we would like to commend the ushers for helping us find our seats."
In an earlier post too, Rabiya emphasized that they really tried their best to secure tickets to IU's Manila concert. She even revealed that they got scammed when they first bought tickets.
She strongly pointed out that there's no VIP treatment for celebrities when it comes to this kind of matter. She declared, "Contrary to what most of you think, walang artista-artista sa paghahanap [ng tickets.]"
