Did Francine Diaz Cut In Ahead Of Orange & Lemons’ Performance At Mindoro Event?

The Orange & Lemons vocalist begs: “Pero sana naman, walang sumisingit, yun lang. Respeto lang ba”

Francine Diaz got involved in an event mishap—with some netizens blaming her for allegedly cutting in ahead of the performance of OPM band Orange and Lemons.

Arriving as a celebrity headliner, the 20-year-old Star Magic artist graced the Governor and Vice Governor’s Night in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Francine was invited together with Orange & Lemons. 

As seen in circulating videos online, during the event proper, the pop-rock band can be seen already on-stage and are just fine-tuning their equipment. However, the host introduced Francine to the crowd—prompting the actress to go onstage. 

What’s supposedly a call for a greeting, the young actress then said she prepared a song number for the crowd. While Francine was singing “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, some staff and members of the band could be seen in a huddle. 

The tension quickly rose just as immediately, Francine struggled to follow the instrumental as her performance was marred by echoed reverberations from a guitar.

Throughout the song, Francine’s performance was spoiled by noisy reception from the instrument—urging the actress to do adlibs and just engage with the audience to finish her performance. 

After finishing the performance, Francine immediately bid the crowd goodbye with a seemingly bothered voice. She said, “Good night, I’m out,” before quickly proceeding backstage. 

Did Clem Castro of Orange & Lemons take a swipe at Francine Diaz? 

Clem Castro, the band vocalist, could not help but air his sentiments over the incident—seemingly taking a swipe at Francine for performing ahead of them. 

Highlighting respect, Clem said, “Gusto ko lang manghingi ng paumanhin, pero kailangan kong sabihin ito, para sa mga artist na, kasi dapat kaninang 11:00 [p.m] pa kami dito, e. 

“Pero sana naman, walang sumisingit, yun lang. Respeto lang ba. Yun lang. Gusto ko lang sabihin yun. Ayokong masira yung pag-enjoy natin ngayong gabi.” 

While the internet was quick to take sides, there are those who believe that it was neither the two party’s fault. But in fact, it was a negligence outrightly committed by the organizers themselves. 

In a report released by Inquirer.net, one staff from the sound department attested that Francine was indeed scheduled last. However, her manager called for a shift in schedule—thus making the program flow disorganized. 

The staff writes, “Hindi po namin alam kung sino po ang susundin namin, nasa program po lahat, na last po si Ma’am Francine, pero siningit po ng manager ni Ma’am Francine na siya unahing kahit hindi po nila nasabihan ang Orange & Lemons.” 

He adds, “May program po kaming sinusunod, hindi lang po nagkaintindihan yung manager, organizer, at host ng event. Kami po kun ano lang yung sinabi nila yun lang po sinusunod namin, kaya po kahit kami nagulat sa nangyari.” 

Francine remains mum on the issue as of this writing. Just as much, Orange & Lemons and the organizers of the event are yet to release a statement regarding the incident. 

READ ALSO: Francine Diaz Shares Lessons From Working On “Fractured”

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