At the height of the controversial cancellation of her movie with Robin Padilla, Toni Gonzaga admitted that she has lessened her communication with real-life friend Mariel Rodriguez, who is currently being linked to Robin.

Toni, however, quickly clarified that she’s only done so in order to avoid fueling more intrigues.

"Hindi na kami nagkikita. Umiiwas ako, e. Umiiwas ako sa mga isyu. Ayaw kong palakihin," said the Ultimate Multimedia Star during a press conference.

Toni may be referring to one of the rumors surrounding the cancellation of her movie with Robin, which reportedly has only six shooting days left to finish.  According to the grapevine, Robin prefers a “single woman” for his leading lady, which Toni isn't, as she has been going steady with director Paul Soriano for a few years now.
 
Interestingly, Mariel has called it quits with Zanjoe Marudo, and her being single all of a sudden satisfies Robin's alleged criterion.

Another rumored reason that the Joyce Bernal-directed film was cancelled is because of Mariel's special closeness with Robin, which might taint publicity for the project.

The 26-year-old Kapamilya star clarified that albeit they haven’t seen each other as often as before, everything is okay between her and Mariel.

“Huwag na natin gawan ng intriga; lilipas din ito. Ayoko na magsalita kasi magsasalita pa ako, hihingan niyo pa ng reaction ang kabilang panig, hahaba lang. Umiiwas ako sa mga issues. Ayokong palakihin," she explained.

Toni said she is also the type of person who is not confrontational.

“Sabi ng daddy ko, kapag mataas ang emosyon mo, basta mabigat ang nararamdaman mo, or mataas, baka makapagbitaw ka ng mga salita na ire-regret mo in the future. So, pahupa muna tayo ng isyu. Siguro, eventually, maaayos din lahat, magkakaroon din ng linaw," she said.

Even so, she related that she has talked to Mariel about the rumors. “Ever since nasa ‘Pinoy Big Brother (Teen Clash 2010 edition)’ pa kami [ay] lumalabas na ‘yong issue na ‘yan. I already clarified it to her, sabi ko labas ako diyan. Ayoko ma-involve kasi nagta-trabaho lang ako."

Thing was, Toni said, some of their fans created a stir out of the controversy. But for her part, she related that she has already talked to her supporters.

"'Yong mga fans, siyempre, sensitive sila, hindi naman natin na maiiwasan 'yon. Pero, I see to it na kinakausap ko ang mga fans ko lalo na 'yong mga malalapit sa akin, na huwag silang mang-aaway, huwag silang mangba-bash ng ibang artista, kasi hindi maganda 'yon.

"Kasi, kung anuman ang ginagawa nila, magre-reflect sa amin 'yon. Hayaan na lang nila na magsalita ang ibang tao against me. Quiet na lang kami kasi at the end of the day, lalabas naman kung ano ang totoo [at] hindi ko na kailangan ipagtanggol ang sarili ko,” she said.

As for the real reason her movie with Robin was cancelled, Toni had this to say:

"Ganun talaga. Huwag ako ang tanungin niyo; tapos na ako diyan. Alam niyo naman na siguro ang dahilan, hindi na kaila siguro kung bakit hindi natuloy [at] ayoko namang sa akin manggaling. I-wish na lang natin sila ng happiness, sana masaya sila.”

In a separate interview with ABS-CBN.com, Robin said he was also saddened when the project was shelved.

“Isang binibining ginagalang natin si Ms. Toni kaya kung anuman ang kanyang iminungkahi at sinasabi, ating susundan ‘yon. Sa mga oras na ito, siguro ang pinakamagandang magsalita ay ang Star Cinema.

“Kung ako ay kokontra sa lahat ng mga lumalabas, hindi maganda ‘yon. Sa akin po, kung may nasaktan, kung may nalungkot, ako din po ay nasaktan, ako din po ay nalungkot. Ang pinakamainam po d’yan ay ating hintayin ang ating mga namumuno na sila ang magbigay ng pahayag,” he said.