R&B artist Denise Julia announced her plans to file a defamation lawsuit against celebrity photographer BJ Pascual and podcast host Killa Kush over their controversial remarks that alleged her “unprofessionalism” in a podcast.
This comes after the “B.A.D.” singer aired her side of the story saying it was BJ’s team who canceled the shoot and that her team did not agree on the production budget, contrary to Pascual’s claims during an episode of Killa Kush’s “Bad B*tch Bible” podcast titled “BJ Pascual Spills Tea” that ignited backlash against her.
In the podcast the renowned photographer shared his experience when asked about the “worst celebrity or model to shoot”, naming Denise Julia.
The episode in question, however, has now been deleted from Killa Kush’s YouTube channel.
In a series of X posts, the “NVMD” singer revealed a screen recording of messages exchanged between her manager, John Vincent Salcedo, and BJ Pascual’s manager, Pearl Acuesta, emphasizing transparency and writing in the caption that she and her team “have nothing to hide”.
The screen recording was Denise’s response to BJ sharing his own screenshots of their managers’ conversation, in his attempt to defend his his and his team’s efforts, that highlighted their attempts to adjust the project budget to P371,000—a figure he claimed was below industry standards—to meet with the singer’s expected budget of P800,000.
Addressing BJ, Denise shared her frustration in a lengthy message which read, “We went into this wanting to work with you—we’re genuine fans and were so excited about the collaboration,” she wrote.
“From the very beginning, we were upfront about our budget and what we can afford to execute the music video, the Photoshoot, the album art, the trailer and press photos,” reiterating her previous statement about their lack of clear communication about the projects’ budget.
Denise further stated that she even delayed the release of her EP to accommodate Pascual’s schedule. Despite these efforts, negotiations fell through, and Pascual’s team eventually canceled the project due to production disagreements.
She voiced her frustration at being publicly criticized for what she described as a private business negotiation between their managers and accused accused Pascual of targeting her character unfairly.
“What hurts the most is seeing my character publicly attacked over something that’s not just out of my control but is a business negotiation between our managers and conversation that should’ve stayed private. You targeted me to bring me down,” wrote Denise.
“I’ve decided to leave the whole screen recording here for full transparency as we have nothing to hide. I thought this was something we had agreed on to talk about in person.”
Denise concluded by announcing her intention to pursue legal action for defamation, expressing regret over the situation but remains firm in her decision to pursue legal action.
“We are now in contact with our legal team about a defamation suit. I hate that this had to go this way when it didn’t have to,” the singer announced.
The much-talked about controversy further escalated following comments made by Pascual and Killa Kush during the podcast episode.
After BJ Pascual described his stressful experience working with Denise, citing tardiness and canceled commitments, Killa Kush echoed the sentiment, stating, “I was disappointed to know you were BJ’s ‘worst celebrity to shoot,’ but I wasn’t surprised.”
In response to the podcast host’s remarks, Denise responded sharply to Killa Kush, who described her discussion with BJ as “a candid and raw chikahan,” and was not intended to humiliate anyone.
“I was disappointed to know you were BJ’s ‘worst celebrity to shoot” but I wasn’t surprised. […] So I had to share my bit of experience first hand. Otherwise the exchange would be inorganic. The focus of the show was always to spark challenging conversations in a casual manner, never to shame or humiliate,” Killa Kush’s message to Denise read.
She expressed disappointment over how the situation unfolded but wished the artist well for the holidays,”It’s truly unfortunate to see how this all unfolded but I’ll always wish you the best. There was never a doubt you’d go far. Hope you’re still able to enjoy the holidays,
To this, Denise curtly replied, “Thanks. I’ll see you in court.”
She also accused Killa Kush of potentially using the issue for social media content, adding, “Assuming you’d make a TikTok out of this too, I’ll just add that to the lawsuit.”
As of writing, neither BJ nor Killa Kush have issued their statement regarding the impending lawsuit against them.
