Nadine Samonte, a homegrown talent of GMA, finally shed light on her bad experience during the GMA Gala 2024.
In a lengthty interview on PEP, Nadine Samonte revealed what transpired on that supposedly festive gig.
It all started when Nadine’s stylist, Keith Manila, revealed that the actress was not in the list despite having an invitation.
“Treat your artists right. Kahit na di yan prime niyo.
“Ba’t kayo mag-iinvite pero wala pala sa listahan. Wag niyo unahin mga influencers na ininvite niyo.
“So disappointing Sparkle GMA Artist Center.”
That was Keith’s post on X which initially reveal how Nadine was mistreated during the gala.
Nadine paid for everything – her gown and her glam team- to achieve a Audrey Hepburn look.
“Yung gown ko, I was the one who paid for it, and of course, my team,” she said
She and her husband checked in at Manila Marriott Hotel the day of the gala.
Nadine revealed it was her second gala. Her first was last year and the invite came just a few days before the event.
When she went down to the registration area, Nadine was surprised to learn that her name was not in the list. At that time, young actress Althea Ablan, her co-star in Forever Young, was also there. A staff saw a vacant seat near Althea so she made Nadine seat there. Problem was, all seats have names on it. This was resolved when the staff saw a vacant seat in a table where there are no name cards.
She wanted to contact her road manager and was delighted to see Jak Roberto who is also handled by her manager.
“Nakapasok naman ang handler ko, pero hindi yata siya puwedeng magtagal… I don’t know.
“Hindi rin niya alam kung ano ang nangyari, bakit nagkaganun,” she said.
“May nag-message rin kasi sa handler ko na bigla daw nawala ang name ko sa list. So, nagtaka ako, bakit nawala? Nakaka-sad po talaga,” she added.
Since her table was in the last row, celebrities were asking her how she was.
Nadine can’t help but compare herself from influencers who were invited in the event. She said they were treated well as there assigned tables for them.
“Hindi ako nagpapa-VIP. Love ko lang talaga ang pag-arte.And wala naman akong sama ng loob or anything sa GMA dahil sa nangyari.
“I think, the production, yung production na in-charge, bakit ganun? Ano’ng nangyari?” she said.
With that, she did not finish the event and went straight to her hotel room. That where she went emotional.
“Noong dumating ako sa hotel room, sa comfort room, hindi ko na talaga napigilan, dun ako umiyak,” she revealed.
When her husband learned about her predicament, he wanted to go down to the venue but Nadine stopped her.
“Narinig ng husband ko and dun ko na naikuwento sa kanya ang totoong nangyari.
“Sabi niya lang sa akin, ‘Hindi kita pinayagang bumalik sa pag-aartista para ganyanin lang.'”
A certain Jerome from the GMA Gala production texted Nadine to apologize with ‘We still hope that you had an enjoyable time tonight,” in the end of the text. That had Nadine laughing.
Still and all, Nadine harbors no bad feelings for GMA.
“Hindi po masama ang loob ko sa GMA, and I’m still thankful kasi nabigyan ako ng magandang show and opportunity na maipakita ko yung skills ko sa acting,” she said. (NIGEL CHAVEZ DE ESTRADA)
