MANILA - Gretchen Barretto admitted that she wanted to come to the defense of her niece, Julia Barretto, when the young actress was being criticized for being paired with leading men of established love teams.
In a joint interview on the sidelines of ABS-CBN's Christmas variety show on Tuesday, Gretchen and Julia agreed that they managed to surpass intrigues hurled at them this year with the help of their family.
"We're here for each other," Gretchen told ABS-CBN News' MJ Felipe. "I think iyon ang importante... We're strong together as a family. Pag nagkakaroon ng problema, may drama, tapos mamaya-maya may tawanan na."
Julia added: "Our family, no matter what happens, no matter what problem comes our way, at the end of the day, we can just laugh about it."
Julia is the daughter of Gretchen's younger sister, former actress Marjorie Barretto. The two and another Barretto sibling, Joaquin, have been estranged from the rest of their family members following the controversy involving their youngest sister, Claudine.
'Go, girl!'
Launched this year as a Star Magic artist, Julia was often asked in interviews about the feud between members of her family. While she managed to keep a safe distance from the issue, the 17-year-old was admittedly affected by personal attacks against her.
Paired at different times with Enrique Gil and Daniel Padilla -- the former, in a primetime series, and the latter, in a TV commercial -- Julia became the target of criticisms of avid fans of the young actor's respective love teams. Gil was partnered with Julia Montes prior to his team-up with Barretto, while Padilla is popular for his tandem with Kathryn Bernardo.
Asked if she has any tips for Julia about onscreen partners, Gretchen said: "Wala akong tips sa kanya, because I believe in making mistakes, falling apart and standing up. Learning from your mistakes, I think, is the best teacher."
"That's how I learned, that's how Marjorie learned, and that's why we are where we are today. We're just here to say, 'Go, girl!' We're just here. Pag may umiyak, pag may problema, nandiyan kami sa likod nila. Alam nila."
Gretchen said there were times when she wanted to fight those were unfairly critical of Julia, "but I really learned to kneel down and pray, kasi may mga taong hindi na natin kayang labanan."
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