Yoo Min-Go, Bella Padilla and Lorna Tolentino

Clout-chasing - when someone feeds wrong information and stirs up a controversy involving famous people just to get noticed online. Director-actress Bela Padilla used this term to refer to the netizen who claimed that she was not nice to fans who wanted to take photos with her at the Harry Styles concert last March 14.

"The person who tweeted me personally apologized to me and said, 'I'm sorry I lied.' So this proves that the person who tweeted me wasn't even there (at the concert)," Bela said during the media conference of her forthcoming 2023 Metro Manila Summer Film Festival movie "Yung Libro Sa Napanood Ko" which is also co-produced by her production house, Whisky Marmalade. She was joined by her co-stars in the movie, Korean actor Yoo Min-Gon and Ms. Lorna Tolentino.

The London-based actress said she wants to put the issue to rest. Fans and random people eventually came to Bela's defense by posting on Twitter their own photos with the actress smiling beside them.

Bela recalled that she even allowed one Harry Styles fan to be in the car with her on the way to the venue. She said she also became instant best friends with her seatmate at the concert, who was a virtual stranger. " So I was really surprised when the issue came out the next day."

"Nag-sorry na sya so okay na sa akin.But I just want to say: be careful what you put out in the world - kung social media man yan, actions, or what you say. I guess laganap ang clout-chasing ngayon. So kung nagpapapansin lang tayo sa isang tao or gusto nating maka-call ng attention, sana hindi tayo nag ii-spread ng rumors or lies cos it's very dangerous. I'm happy na nag-apologize na, and I'm okay with that," Bela remarked.

(The person apologized to me and am okay with that. But I just want to say: be careful what you put out in the world - whether it is in social media, your actions, or what you say. I guess clout-chasing is so prevalent these days. If we want to get somebody's attention, I hope we're not spreading rumors and lies because this is very dangerous.)

In the media conference, Bela also used a phrase to dispense another piece of advice: "shoot your shot" which loosely means going after something even if you don't know what the results will be.

"One thing I can say to the young generation out there: shoot your shot. 2023 is the year to shoot your shot. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I could direct Ms. LT (Lorna Tolentino), but we all have to start somewhere. I needed one person to believe in me and that was Miss LT. All the young people out there deserve a shot. Let's not diminish their work because of lack of experience," she pointed out.

Bela revealed that she wrote the script for "Yung Libro Sa Napanood Ko" before the pandemic.

"I watched a K-drama called  'Because This Is My First Life.' It was so uplifting. It had no contravida  (villain). Likewise, it was very easy to watch. I said to myself I wanted to do something based on this K-drama with no contravida but addresses mental health issues," she recounted.

Close to 80 per cent of "Yung Libro Sa Napanood Ko" was filmed in Korea. The movie is Viva Films'' entry to the 2023 Metro Manila Summer Film Festival, which will be held from April 8 to 18.