Marian Rivera: Fans protest in Jean Garcia's statement

Marian Rivera: Fans protest in Jean Garcia's statement. Fans of Marian Rivera are crying foul over a statement allegedly made by actress Jean Garcia on the pairing of Rivera's erstwhile onscreen partner, Dingdong Dantes with young star Rhian Ramos in GMA-7's remake of "Stairway to Heaven."

Asked to compare the Dantes-Ramos combination with other showbiz team-ups, Garcia-who co-stars with the two in the teleserye-allegedly said the couple look 'classy' and 'elegant.'

She then right away apologized to Marian which implied that the Marian-Dingdong love team was what she (Jean) had in mind.

"No offense meant kay Marian, but Dingdong and Rhian's personality blend well. Both are classy, elegant-looking...sosyal ang dating."

The comment raised a howl of protest from fans, some of whom immediately aired their feelings in various online fora and blog posts.

"I think Marian shouldn't be dragged into this because she is not part of the cast at all. To have their show rate, it must rely on its own package and merits. Not fair for Marian," said one.

"(Garcia) is talking nonsense. Dingdong is overrated. If not for Marian, there would never be a Dingdong now," said another.

It can be recalled that Rivera was Dantes' perennial partner. Both were paired time and again in many of GMA network's primetime offerings, including some of their biggest hits like "Dyesebel", "Marimar," and "Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang."

The pair is whispered to be lovers.

Early on, Ramos had to defend herself from the couple's fans after some accused her of encroaching into the supposedly still very much "bankable" Dantes-Rivera partnership.

Some even claimed Ramos is attempting to snag Dantes' heart. "I don't see why fans should worry. As artists, we're given our respective projects-it's purely work. It's not like I use my job as an excuse to meet guys," said she in a previous interview.

Both Dantes and Rivera weren't available to comment on Garcia's statement as of this writing.