Denise Laurel slams case of mistaken identity

It’s Denise, not Deniece.

This is what Kapamilya actress Denise Laurel wants to tell people who mistake her for Deniece Cornejo, the student-model who filed a rape charge against Vhong Navarro.

Their names may sound the same, but Denise  clarified that she is not involved in the controversy.

"Hindi ako ang Deniece na iyon. Magkaparehas man kami ng tunog ng pangalan, magkaiba ang spelling, magkaibang personality, ibang tao," Denise said at the press conference of Regal's upcoming horror movie "Third Eye."

Slightly traumatized

Harsh messages in social media from those who mistook her for Deniece have slightly traumatized Denise.

"People were tweeting me, cursing  me, saying na 'Mamatay ka na sana. Ikaw pala ang may kasalanan ng lahat. Ikaw pala ang babaeng iyon.'"

But after Deniece started giving  TV interviews, people started to realize  Denise is a totally different person.

Denise is  thankful to Vice Ganda for clearing her name in an episode of the noontime variety show "It's Showtime."

She even trended on Twitter after Vice Ganda mentioned Denise’s name while joking about the  condo incident.

"Dahil sa mga jokes niya, naliwanagan ang mga tao na hindi ako and Deniece na iyon."

Still Denise

Denise won’t change her name despite what happened.

"I'd like to think na after 17 years in the industry, I have created my own way of (being) Denise. Hopefully, hindi siya masira ng isang 'Deniece' na hindi kanais-nais ang nangyari."

Contrary to what others think, Denise thinks the case of mistaken identity is no joke.

"Sa likod ng mga jokes na iyan, may taong nasaktan. It can be funny. But behind the funny, something not good happened and I want people to learn from that experience."

She  thinks the Vhong-Deniece incident should serve as a  "cautionary tale."

"Para sa mga taong lalabas at night to be very careful and for other artists also to be very careful with the people they deal with. Sana maging okay si Kuya Vhong.”