Social media went abuzz days after Kathryn Bernardo shared the stage with Korean group Stray Kids.
Kathryn, Stray Kids and other local and Asian artists were on stage as awardees at the Asia Artist Awards 2023. It was held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan on December 14.
They received the Fabulous Award alongside the following:
- NewJeans
- Lim Young-woong
- Daniel Padilla
Viewers, however, noticed how close Kathryn was to Stray Kids members during the awarding ceremony. Kathryn was next to Daniel at that time.
They shared screenshots of the reactions of Stray Kids to Kathryn with other Pinoys on X.
Petersen Vargas, who directed “A Very Good Girl” and also a Stray Kids fan, was one of them. He personally messaged Kathryn to express his excitement that she was near the Korean boy group.
Petersen also uploaded a screenshot of this private chat on his X account and introduced the boy group to the actress.
“Kung nireplayan mo sana aq agad @bernardokath baka naikwento q na lahat ng kailangan mong malaman sa SKZ haha what a [cutie],” he said.
Kung nireplayan mo sana aq agad @bernardokath baka naikwento q na lahat ng kailangan mong malaman sa SKZ haha what a qt 😭 https://t.co/Ny2CpVubW2 pic.twitter.com/qnj5bGA16l
— Petersen 4-Ever (@petersenvargas) December 14, 2023
In the image, Kathryn admitted to the director that she thought Stray Kids was the name of a girl group.
“Akala ko girl group ang Stray Kids, P!” she said with monkey emojis.
“So nung katabi ko I was like…OMG, all boys pala sila,” the actress added.
Petersen’s post about this exchange garnered one million views and 8,800 likes.
Chie Filomeno later replied to the filmmaker.
“Kath kath, need ka na namin iintroduce sa Stray Kids,” Chie wrote.
Peterson responded to her, saying that Kathryn could also be a fan in the future.
“Magiging Stay rin ‘to i-project natin hahaha chz,” he said. Stay is the fandom name of Stray Kids.
Several Filipinos, meanwhile, found Kathryn’s blunder adorable. They also hoped Kathryn would become a Stray Kids fan.
“HAHAHA ANG CUTE MO @bernardokath. Yas please, stan SKZ [Stray Kids] na hahaha. Green flag lahat sila hahaha,” an X user said.
“Kathryn thought SKZ is a girl group lmao so cute,” another Filipino on X commented.
Other local artists also brought home awards from the star-studded affair.
Melai Cantiveros-Francisco was also bestowed the “Best Actor” award for her role in Pulp Studios’ debut movie “Ma’am Chief.”
RELATED: ‘I am first honor’: Melai Cantiveros draws laughter, praise among Pinoys, Korean artists
Indie band Ben&Ben was also among the recipients of the “Best Choice” award.
Some of the winners of the major awards of AAA this year were:
- Singer of the Year: NewJeans
- Album of the Year: SEVENTEEN
- Actor of the Year: 2PM’s Lee Junho
- Song of the Year: New Jeans’ “Ditto”
- Stage of the Year: Stray Kids
- Best Creator: 3RACHA (Stray Kids’ Bang Chan, Changbin, Han)
