NYMag.com says in this Vulture bit posted on July 19: "Filipina singer Charice, dubbed by Oprah the ’Most Talented Girl in the World,’ is scheduled to appear on the upcoming season of Glee as a foreign-exchange student and rival to Lea Michele’s Rachel Berry. To prepare, the 18-year-old has gotten Botox and an anti-aging procedure ’to look fresh on camera.’ A ’celebrity cosmetic surgeon’ said the operation was intended to make Charice’s ’naturally round face’ more narrow, all but forcing Glee creator Ryan Murphy to rewrite Charice’s episode to contain the message: It’s important to love and embrace one’s naturally round face as it is.’"
The hit Golden-Globe-winning musical-comedy-drama TV series centers on high school outcasts who join the school glee club where they find solace and fulfillment in their musical talents rather than their looks or popularity. The show tackles issues high school students (and even the older teachers on the show) have to deal with, such as identity, acceptance, conviction, integrity, and even body confidence.
Among the readers’ comments on the story: From NYCBUNNY: "nice way to promote naturalness. great role model...and what would Oprah say?? FAIL." LYRA127 wrote, "Uh she looks like 12 in that pic, so any fresher and they’ll have to write her as an elementary school singing prodigy," while JOURGY said, "I’m surprised that I’m reading about how she got Botox and not a nose job to put in that bridge! Sadly, I believe a large number of Filipinos are particularly vain/extremely self-conscious people who are obsessed with beauty more than Americans."
Meanwhile, news about Charice’s Botox procedure has landed on the websites of CNN, People, Us Weekly, AP and Just Jared, and Perez Hilton, who called it "SICK!!!" and wrote, "Who the eff would do that to an effing teenager in good conscience?!" He quoted Charice as saying she was "very proud to be an Asian, very proud to be Filipino," then remarked, "Obviously not or she would accept her naturally round face. Get some help, bb - or you’re not gonna last very long!"
These news reports say "local cosmetic dermatiologist" Dr. Vicki Belo explained that the Botox and Thermage treatments aimed to "alter the shape of the singer’s ’naturally round face,’ but according to People.com, "The singer’s rep confirms she had Botox, but says it was not for cosmetic purposes. ’She’s had Botox for some jaw pain she’s experiencing.’ (Botox can be used to ease pain from TMJ.) However, she noted that Charice will look different on the show: ’She had her hair colored at the Brad Johns Studio at Elizabeth Arden,’ says her rep. ’That’s the only vaguely cosmetic thing she’s done.’"
The rep told Us Weekly that the point of the procedure was "to relieve a jaw problem similar to TMJ...It did not hurt; it relieved the pain...You’ve seen her face - she doesn’t have a wrinkle in it so she wouldn’t need it for cosmetic purposes. The Glee people are thrilled with the way she looks which is why she got the part."
