MANILA -- "It's too much."
This was Gerald Anderson's message to the "bashers" of Maja Salvador, who addressed criticisms early this week by "[choosing] to be the better person."
Shortly after a bloggers conference held Tuesday for the upcoming crime-thriller "On the Job (OTJ)," the 24-year-old actor was asked what triggered his girlfriend to post a message about her "bashers" on the image-sharing service Instagram on Tuesday.
"Syempre umaabot din sa point... Umaabot din sa point na sumusobra rin, 'diba? Hindi porke't artista kami, parang wala lang sa amin pag may nagba-bash," he said. "Syempre, you know, may feelings din kami. Tao pa rin kami. So iyon, siguro umabot din sa point na gano'n."
In her post on Instagram, Salvador urged her supporters not to engage in arguments with her "haters" online, saying she prefers to stay "positive" despite being the target of personal attacks.
The 24-year-old actress was known to be a close friend of her "Ina, Kapatid, Anak" co-star Kim Chiu, until reports of the Salvador's blooming relationship with Anderson surfaced.
Anderson and Chiu, who became a couple after their stint as fellow housemates on the reality TV series "Pinoy Big Brother," broke up in 2010.
Salvador earlier acknowledged that she may have earned "haters" when she entered a relationship with the former partner of her best friend.
"Lahat ng artista may bashers eh, hindi mawawala 'yun kahit sino ka man. Hindi mawawala 'yun," Anderson noted.
Fighting back
Himself a target of criticisms, the young actor has had to address being tagged a "playboy" and a "heartbreaker."
Anderson, as with his on-screen roles of late, said he has learned to "fight back" to some extent. "Kailangan. You have to, you have to," he added.
"Sa negosyong ito... hindi siya para sa lahat eh. 'Yung showbiz, hindi siya para sa lahat. You have to be strong, para sa'yo, para sa pamilya mo," he said.
He is cautious to "stay humble," however, "kasi ang daming pwede magbago, ang daming pwede mag-iba."
"But at the end of the day, kung sino ka nung nag-start ka at hanggang ngayon gano'n ka pa rin, 'yun ang pinaka-importante," he said.
As a public figure, Anderson said he has also learned to draw a clear line in discussing details of his private life. The actor was tight-lipped whenever his relationship with Salvador was brought up during Tuesday's round of interviews.
Asked how he manages to spend time with his girlfriend despite his packed schedule, he said: "Iyan ay isang malaking secret. Syempre sa amin na po iyon."
"'Yung status po namin, sa relationship namin, open po sa lahat. Pero 'yung relationship namin mismo is not open, sa amin lang po iyon," he said.
