MANILA, Philippines — Actress and beauty queen Michelle Dee on Monday filed a cyber libel complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation against social media personality Xian Gaza and administrators of several Facebook pages for allegedly spreading false information about her.
Dee, accompanied by her lawyer, Atty. Maggie Abraham-Garduque, went to the NBI Cybercrime Division to formally lodge the complaint.
The beauty queen said the posts included claims that she had fled the country and was already in another nation amid a controversy circulating online. She denied the allegations and described them as defamatory and harmful to her reputation.
Three other Facebook pages were included in the complaint for allegedly sharing or amplifying the same claims.
Speaking to reporters after filing the case, Dee said the issue goes beyond celebrity scrutiny and touches on accountability and women’s rights.
“The point here is that we should not normalize speaking that way about women. I think we should protect women’s rights and privacy, especially when the claims are fake. I believe the truth will come out in the next few days,” Dee said.
She added, “I’m here to call for accountability. I know I’m an actress, I’m a beauty queen as well. scrutiny is always part of the job, but in cases like this, let’s call for accountability against fake news, against misinformation. This is not a teleserye, real lives are being affected.”
Hours after news of the complaint broke, Gaza posted a statement on his official Facebook page.
“Good move. Very strategic. Smart. So the entire issue gets diverted to Xian Gaza’s libel case and away from the driver they allegedly beat and illegally detained. The news headlines will become Michelle Dee vs. Xian Gaza, and now she becomes the victim fighting back. Because let’s be real, the threesome rumor did not hurt her career at all. That issue has been making noise for years. It even helped her, actually,” Gaza wrote as translated to English.
“The truth is, her name was damaged because of Kuya Driver, so now they need to file a case against me for damage control. At the same time, journalists, news agencies and content creators who will post about her in the future will hesitate. That’s the clear message for everyone. To save her name and career. I fully understand the bigger picture. In Tagalog, I understand Michelle Dee. Happy to help. May God bless her,” he added.
The legal dispute comes amid a separate controversy involving a driver who filed complaints for torture and serious illegal detention against Dee, actress Rhian Ramos and beauty queen Samantha Panlilio. The driver’s complaint stemmed from allegations surrounding an angpao said to contain sensitive photographs.
Dee, in turn, filed a qualified theft complaint against the driver.