As the intense grilling with Boy “Tito Boy” Abunda continued in the July 2 episode of "Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition," the Big Four duos were able to redeem themselves from the negative opinions thrown at them by the outside world, pouring out their thoughts and hearts in answers that showcased their personal growth and the strength of their bond as duos.
AZ Martinez and River Joseph, also known as AzVer faced the “Defend Your Duo” segment, where each duo had to address harsh comments from netizens, but the partner of the housemate being criticized would be the one to respond on their behalf.
For AZ, Tito Boy said, “You are labeled as being manipulative and backstabbing. Ginagamit mo ang pagiging emotional mo para makuha ang gusto mo.” AZ was visibly shocked upon hearing the comment, but her partner River immediately stepped up to defend her, saying that he actually sees AZ as someone who takes accountability. “I personally never saw AZ as someone being manipulative. She is someone who thinks a lot, who contemplates on her thoughts a lot. And sa pagiging backstabber, I think that's just her trying to clarify those thoughts to other people and to express what she's feeling inside. But eventually, she will tell that person that she's having a problem with, straight to their face, and talk about what their problem is and have that conversation and try to fix it afterwards. So I don't think that's being manipulative or being a backstabber.”
Later on, inside the confession room, AZ opened up about the questioning and shared that she knew people were referring to her past conflict with housemate Mika Salamanca, a conflict she knows they had already resolved. She explained that she admitted her mistakes and took the initiative to make amends with Mika, “Alam ko na din Kuya na okay na kami. I've made sure to be honest with her about kung anong pagkakamali ko sa kanya at anong mga nasabi ko."
River, on the other hand, received the criticism, “Mayaman ka lang daw at may koneksyon, kaya ka naging artista. A comment said that you are talentless and weak-minded.” Defending her duo, AZ responded, “I believe River did all of this through hard work. He went through all of the process of audition. She added that River often shares stories about the struggles he’s faced during auditions and go-sees just to land a role in a teleserye or commercial. She also said she doesn’t believe River is talentless, because he was able to show his real talents during his stay in Bahay ni Kuya.
For their question as a duo, Tito Boy said, “Kung sakali man na kayo manalo sa kompetisyong ito, tila mas nababagay daw sa inyo ang titulong Beg Winner kaysa maging Big Winner dahil sa madalas n’yong pag-iyak at pagiging overly emotional.”
AZ responded with quiet strength, “For me, we deserve this spot. We did our best. We were true the whole time.” She added that they were simply being genuine, even during moments when they cried or became emotional, because that was what their hearts truly felt. “And if people don’t accept that, that’s okay.”
River then continued, “If we were emotional, that’s what we were really feeling at that time. That’s us not hiding whatever we feel.” He firmly closed by saying, “And it’s okay to be emotional.”
As the Big Night draws closer, fans now have deeper insight into what drives their favorite duos, who they’ve become through the journey, and what kind of Big Winners they hope to be.
Catch "PBB Collab" weeknights at 10:15 PM and Saturdays at 6:15 PM on Kapamilya Online Live (KOL).