MANILA, Philippines—Vicki Belo can’t understand what the fuss is about.

Asked about her professional rivalry with cosmetic surgeon Manny Calayan on “Showbiz Central” last Sunday, Belo quipped: “If you want to look like Piolo Pascual and Dingdong Dantes, you go to Belo. If you want to look like Boy Abunda, you go to Calayan.”

Belo told Inquirer that she wasn’t being mean, that it was said in jest: “Boy is Calayan’s main male endorser, in the same way that Piolo and Dingdong are my main male endorsers. Why are [people] making a big deal out of that? Calayan put Boy on his billboard because he is proud of him, right?”

Boy ‘hurt’
Abunda said he was “shocked” and “hurt.” He also told Inquirer: “I never had illusions that I’m Miss Universe material. Perhaps Calayan saw a different kind of beauty in me, the same one that Vicki saw before, because she also once asked me to endorse her.”

The TV host, who used to help in Belo’s media relations, added, “I am … blessed [but] I’m not immune to pain, especially since Vicki is a friend. We had more good times than bad. This is not the Vicki I know.”