Kakai Bautista told to stop using Mario Maurer’s name

Actress and comedian Kakai Bautista was told to refrain from using Mario Maurer’s name publicly, in a demand letter sent to her management by the Thai actor’s legal team.

According to Pep, Kwaonhar Nine Nine sent a letter to Kakai’s agency Artists Gallery Management, demanding her to refrain from “any further use of the name of Mario Maurer or any reference to him, directly or indirectly.”

Mario’s team also said in the letter dated March 22 that if Kakai does not comply with their demands, they will take legal action.

Kakai had previously spoken about her ties to Mario, whom she worked with on the 2012 film Suddenly It’s Magic. In a 2013 interview, Kakai got emotional when she spoke about her friendship with Mario, and how she never expected that he would be so nice to her.

She later said in a 2019 interview with Boy Abunda that while she and Mario didn’t have a relationship, she “fell for his realness” and that they had exchanged “I love yous” as friends. In the same interview, she clarified that they suddenly stopped communicating, and hadn’t been in touch for 7 years.

In their demand letter, Mario’s camp denied Kakai’s statements on her closeness to the actor, saying they were “false and untrue.”

“By so using the name of our talent, Catherine ‘Kakai’ Bautista is improperly exploiting the name, image and reputation of Mario Maurer and his manager, and may be violating existing laws of the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Thailand,” they said.

Kakai has yet to address the letter publicly but has been posting on social media, sharing photos of her at the beach.

“BRB. Too busy loving myself. Too busy being grateful,” she said in a post. – Rappler.com