"The end of her career"- Netizens react as Maris Racal loses endorsements in wake of Anthony Jennings cheating controversy

By Bias Sinha

Modified Dec 07, 2024 17:29 GMT

Maris Racal (Image via Instagram/@mariestellar)

Filipino actress and singer Maris Racal, best known for playing Irene Tiu in the romantic drama series Can’t Buy Me Love, recently got embroiled in a controversy. This happened after she lost her endorsement with Dazzle Me, a beauty, cosmetic, and personal care brand.

Racal was introduced as the product's brand ambassador a few months ago. Following the scandal, Dazzle Me made their statement public on Facebook and Instagram on Thursday, December 5, 2024. The statement read:

“It is not said to be easy to do. But they say they need to do this to maintain the integrity of their product. At Dazzle Me, we have always been about inclusivity, authenticity, and making the right choices even when they're tough or uncomfortable.”

It further read:

“After thoughtful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to end our partnership with Maris Racal. Working with her has been an amazing journey—her energy, humor, and authenticity resonated deeply with our vision of a bold and inspiring Gen Z icon..”

This comes after Filipino actor Anthony Jennings and Maris Racal’s cheating controversy started making headlines. It came to the limelight after Jennings' girlfriend, Villanueva, shared snippets of the former's and Racal's alleged private chats on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, December 3.

Meanwhile, once the news of Racal losing endorsements went public, netizens took to social media to comment on the Facebook page @pep.ph. One even claimed that it was seemingly the end of her career.

Netizens reacted after Maris lost her endorsements (Image via Facebook / @pep.ph)

Others also criticised her for her actions. One netizen said she deserved it, while another said she faces the “consequences" of her "actions."

Another one then said that cheating “makes honesty questionable.”

On the other hand, many even supported her and said one should know her side of the story. Another netizen asked others to “give her a second chance.”

One person noted that people should not celebrate the downfall of celebrities who are unaware of their existence.

Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings apologized to their fans following the scandal

Racal is now facing criticism (Image via Instagram /@mariesteller)

Amid the scandal, a well-known beauty company, Dazzle Me, has severed its relationship with Maris Racal. They made their announcement a day after Anthony Jennings' ex-girlfriend disclosed the actor's purported chats with Racal during their time together. Jam Villanueva further alleged that the couple had a private affair off-screen.

After this, Maris Racal apologized in public for the alleged incident of adultery. During her more than ten-minute appearance on the local TV network ABS-CBN, she also provided her point of view on the incident. She said:

“Today, I will be speaking from my heart… Today I will take accountability for everything… And I wanna say sorry for everything that I’ve done.”

She acknowledged that she and Anthony connected during their regular contact on set, resulting in emotions she now regrets. She further asserted that she was unaware of Jennings's relationship with Villanueva at the time.

In a video shared hours after her public apology, Anthony Jennings also apologized to Maris Racal and Jamela Villanueva. As per Gulf News’ December 6 report, he said:

“For everything that has happened the past few days, for all the people I hurt, especially Maris [Racal] and Jam [Villanueva], I apologize to the two women. And to all those who were affected too. I’m sorry again.”

Villanueva has not reacted to the developments at the time of writing this article.

Edited by Rachith Rao