"Dapat mag-apologize si Ellen. Dapat niyang gawin ‘yon para mapatunayan niya na siya, sila ni Derek, mga propesyunal."
This is what seasoned comedian-actor Long Mejia said regarding "John En Ellen" co-star Ellen Adarna supposedly leaving cast and crew hanging June 25, the last day of their lock-in taping.
"Sa totoo lang, ako ang artista na hindi masyadong pinupuna ang lahat. Pero kapag mali na pala yung ginagawa, makakasagot ka talaga. Ngayon lang ako nakaranas nang ganyan," he told PEP.ph, relating how he worked with "big stars" prior but never experienced such.
"Malalaking artista ang mga kaibigan at nakakatrabaho ko. Nakikita niyo naman ang mga kaibigan natin, may Luis Manzano tayo, may John Estrada. Ang dami at mas sikat, may pangalan kesa kay Ellen Adarna."
According to Long, the sexy actress was "unprofessional."
"Ang salita niya lang sa isang production staff na nadaanan niya, 'Bye!' Ano ‘yon?," he said. "Hindi naman kami nagkikikibo, pero kapag ganito ang nangyari, nakaapekto sa show namin. Napakaraming tao ngayon ang nangangailangan ng trabaho dahil sa kagagawan niya."
"Yun ang nangyari. Hindi ba siya nahihiya? Nahihiga siya sa pera, e, yung mga kapwa niya... Kumakain siya ng bulalo. Bulalo ang ulam mo, tapos yung ibang crew, noodles ang kinakain? Wala siyang ginawa kundi magsolo agad."
Long also noted that Ellen's fiance, hunk actor Derek Ramsay was there when it happened.
"Itong si Derek Ramsay, kung makakausap ko ito, kung alam niya ang pagiging propesyunal, sinabihan niya dapat si Ellen ng 'Huwag ka munang umalis. Tapusin mo ‘yan nang maayos,'" he shared.
"E, aalis ka nang biglaan, tatarantahin mo ang production. E, di nataranta ngayon ang mga tao. May eksena na pamilya, wala siya."
Long thinks Ellen is seemingly always in a hurry because of Derek.
"Si Ellen Adarna, parang lagi siyang nagmamadali sa taping. Gusto niya siguro magkita na agad sila ni Derek Ramsay," was how he put it.
"E, ako kasi, wala akong pakialam dun. E, tao na umiibig ‘yan, e. Ang gusto ko nga, sana silang dalawa na. Ang ano ko lang, dapat inihihiwalay nila ang pag-ibig sa trabaho. Hindi yung ginawa mo na umalis ka nang wala kang paalam," he added. ""Kasi sa totoo lang, kung babatasin natin, hindi ka puwedeng umalis sa taping. Bayad ka, may pinirmahan ka, bayad ka sa araw na ‘yon. Hanggang sa matapos ang taping, bayad ka. Hangga’t may eksena ka, hindi ka aalis. Hindi naman libre ‘yon, hindi naman 'Thank you, Ellen' iyon.'"
When asked for his message to Ellen, Long said: "Ang mensahe ko kay Ellen, sana maramdaman niya yung mga katrabaho niya. Maramdaman niya, bigyan niya ng halaga, mga tao ‘yon. Mga tao ‘yon na naghahanap lang ng mga trabaho. Huwag niyang idamay sa personal niya. Sa madaling-salita, maging propesyonal siya."
He thinks Ellen should apologize to them.
"Dapat mag-apologize si Ellen. Dapat niyang gawin ‘yon para mapatunayan niya na siya, sila ni Derek, mga propesyunal."
Ellen's manager Danel Calixto already issued a statement relating the issue through PEP.ph.
"I would like to take this moment to reach out to everyone and address the recent false and fabricated accusations against my client, Ms. Ellen Adarna. These untruthful and upsetting allegations against Ms. Adarna were churned out by websites that chose to cite anonymous sources," he started.
"While it is true that Ms. Adarna will not be returning to 'John en Ellen,' it was a decision made by us, and not by the production team because of her alleged 'attitude problem,'" Danel noted.
According to him, Ellen has shown over the years that she is a professional, loyal, hardworking, and a team player who values everyone's time, including her own.
"In fact, Ms. Adarna's leading man and line producer of the show, Mr. John Estrada, has issued a statement, saying that Ms. Adarna did not walk out from taping. His understanding was that Ms. Adarna was already done with the shoot that day," Danel said.
"We are fortunate to have had an overwhelming amount of support from people, and we are thankful to those standing by the side of Ms. Adarna."
Meanwhile, Derek reacted to the same to Morly Alinio of DZRH.
"Ang alam ko lang, binigyan siya ng 12 o’clock lunchtime… lumagpas pa nga ng lunch, tapos last eksena na niya, umuwi na siya... Ako pa nga ang nag-drive sa kanya pauwi."