MANILA, Philippines — Celebrity photographer BJ Pascual has aired his side on a viral controversy involving rising artist Denise Julia over a canceled photoshoot and music video project.
The issue surfaced after Pascual referred to Julia as his "worst" work experience during a podcast, citing her cancelation of a planned shoot.
Julia broke her initial social media detox to issue a response, sharing screenshots of conversations between her manager John Vincent Salcedo and Pascual's manager Pearl Acuesta alternating with contextual explanations.
The planned project initially involved a photoshoot that was rescheduled to accommodate Pascual's availability. It later expanded to include a music video, which ballooned the planned budget.
The singer said Salcedo, Julia's manager, tried to figure out ways to make the shoot work out of respect for Pascual's team and their time and efforts. She noted that she shared the screenshots to clarify details she belived weren't discussed in the podcast.
Related: Singer Denise Julia airs side on issue with photographer BJ Pascual
Julia claimed it was Pascual's team who decided to cancel the project due to multiple setbacks. She said she then reached out to the photographer and received a reply on Christmas Eve.
"It was because I didn't know the extent of his frustrations until everything aired out on social media and it blew off of proportion. It is something that I will take with me as I move forward with work," she said. "This is the first and last time I am addressing this because BJ and I have discussed we’ll talk in person so that we can find real solutions to address this."
Pascual's response
The photographer then addressed the issue by sharing screenshots on his own Instagram account, prefaced by appreciation for Julia's efforts to discuss the situation and the conversation they had.
He explained that he felt compelled to share additional information because the screenshots Julia had shown did not reflect the full context.
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This included his team's efforts to bring down the project's budget to P371,000 which Pascual said was below industry standards, rather than the claimed P1.2 million.
Pascual then posted screenshots countering allegations that his team did not immediately respond as well as on Julia's budget claims, confirming that Salcedo had agreed on the shoot date.
The photographer ended in the hopes the issue would be put to rest as he shared the full context consistent with what he shared on the podcast.
He also apologized for addressing the matter on Christmas Day and asked everyone to "move forward with positivity and growth."
Earlier, Pascual said he responded personally to Julia, acknowledging her message and expressing his openness to resolve the issue in person.
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