Lea Salonga's Interaction With Fans Outside Her Dressing Room Sparks Talks on Celebrity Privacy
They're not on the guest list, she said.
(SPOT.ph) UPDATE: Actress and singer Lea Salonga initially declined the selfie request of fans waiting outside her Here Lies Love dressing room in Broadway before leading them outside for pictures, sparking conversations over the weekend on celebrities' privacy and boundaries as public figures.
Cristopher Retokelly Carpila posted the video of his and fellow fans' encounter with the Broadway star in New York on July 15, when they were told that they weren't allowed in the dressing room area because they weren't part of the guest list. The video with more than 2,400 shares garnered mixed reactions.
"Para kaming mga basurang pinagtabuyan sa harap ng mga taong andoon," said Carpila in his post.
"If ever naman po na mali kami at wala sa guest list, the fact na andun na kami para lang magpa-picture, pumila at nagbayad ng mahal para sa show, siguro naman bilang kapwa Pilipino at mga fans e mabigyan ng kahit konting respeto at kahit hindi na yakapin or i-beso ay mapagbigyan na kahit sandaling magpa-picture (mabilis lang naman 'yun)."
"The money you pay for a theater/concert ticket does not mean all-access. You pay for that performer’s art, and that’s where it stops," said Salonga in a tweet.
"That attitude of entitlement gets a FUCK THAT SH*T from me," she said of fan entitlement.
Also read: Do Celebrities Owe Fans Selfies and Attention? Rica Peralejo's Take Goes Viral
What happened at Lea Salonga's "Here Lies Love" dressing room
The video began as Salonga, who plays Ninoy Aquino's mother Aurora in the musical, says goodbye to some of her guests in her dressing room. Carpila, who was by the door, started approaching her to ask if they can take selfies, to which the Broadway star asked: "Who are you? I'm so sorry, I don't know who you are."
"We're just fans," he said.
"Unless you're on the guest list, we cannot have you back here so you have to go to the door. I'm so sorry because if I allow this now, then other people are gonna take advantage," she said, citing security reasons.
Another fan introduced herself as a friend of Filipino-American actress and co-producer of "Here Lies Love" Giselle "G" Tongi and pressed further by saying they had been waiting outside "for a while" but Salonga said they still weren't in the list and asked them to wait by the door outside the dressing room area.
Salonga told them "please don't do this again" and "I have to be really strict about this" as she walked outside, followed by the fans, to take photos with them.
One of the fans, Richelle Meade, said in a comment to Carpila's post that the group was heartbroken over what happened.
"For everyone who are stressing about us invading her personal space or privacy, you don’t know the whole story. We patiently waited outside the gate and pinapasok po kami ng security nila. They even asked and went back to us three times. Since pinapasok kami, we thought na okay na so it's not our fault why we are there. All we want is a photo with her up close."
"Just a reminder… I have boundaries. Do not cross them. Thank you," said Salonga in a series of tweets published July 17, adding "and make sure the person you name-drop actually knows you exist."
"Oh, I neglected to mention that he and his companions rushed me on the dance floor after the show. Security had to surround me at that point because they got scared," she said.
"Real life demonstration: none of the actors in HLL have been to my dressing room. Not Arielle, Jose, Conrad, Melody, or anyone else. These are already friends and co-workers, and yet they respect my boundaries! So who is anyone else to want to invade my space? Make it make sense!"
One of her lead producers and her dance captain told her she was "very nice" in handling the situation, and if it were up to them, they would have cussed at the group and kick them out.
"I’m not the type to cuss people out, but I will protect my territory and my boundaries. If I lose fans as a result, so be it."
It's not the first time Salonga spoke against the invasion of her personal space. In a report by Pep in 2017, she also warned fans in a tweet that she may start refusing photos after her daugher had an unpleasant encounter with fans.
Lea Salonga, other social media users' response
On Twitter where the video was reposted, Salonga replied to one user who tagged G Tongi.
"I checked in with G after this happened….. she had no idea who they were."
In another tweet, Salonga said there are multiple levels of security at the theater "but I had a ton of guests that night and perhaps they folded right into them. Security policies have been even more tightened."
Some defended Carpila and the group, with one saying they cannot imagine that Salonga talks to her fans that way.
Other commenters called out the group, saying Salonga remained professional throughout the incident and that fans should know how to respect celebrities' private spaces.
Salonga heads the all-Filipino cast of Broadway's Here Lies Love, which tells the story of former president Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda in a disco musical a year after their son, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. won the Philippine presidency. This is the first time theater veteran Salonga plays a Filipino character on Broadway.
Also read:
What is Imeldific? Imelda Marcos in Her Own Words, How the World Sees Her
Imelda, Stage Mother: Thoughts on The Kingmaker