Barretto family feud heats up again

CEBU, Philippines - The Barretto clan is being rocked by a full-scale family feud, and the fans have a front-row seat, thanks to the social media.

Celeb sisters Gretchen and Claudine Barretto have been quarrelling siblings for the longest time, and their verbal clashes are well documented. But recently their mom, Inday Barretto, has joined the fray, siding with Claudine, saying Claudine is being ganged up on by Gretchen and other sis Marjorie.

Claudine is going through some rough times. Her movie and TV projects have dried up. Worse, her marriage to Raymart Santiago is rumored to be rocky, and there are reports that Raymart has not been going home.

Gretchen and Marjorie jumped on the opportunity to fire a salvo at their sister through Twitter. “Your husband walked out on you coz of your violent ways,” Gretchen said in a recent Tweet. “What exactly did you do to his Porsche? His laptop? Etc.  Oh please reflect and go to your happy place, Medical City.”

Now that’s washing your dirty linen in public!

Things began to escalate several days ago, when Mrs. Barretto called Gretchen an “ST (Sex Trip) Queen,” which is far from being a compliment.

Last week, Joaquin, the sisters’ only brother, jumped into the ring to defend Gretchen.

In a statement, Joaquin chastised his mom. “You have lifted Claudine on a pedestal as the teleserye queen and labeled Gretchen nothing but an ST queen. But who took over the role of her parents, worked at the age of 12 and gave up her education to put her siblings to school? Who put food on the table, paid for the rent, electricity and hospital bills when dad suffered from his heart condition at least two times?”

You’d think Joaquin was through exposing all the skeletons in the family’s closet. But he was just warming up. “Did you ever once stop her from doing all that because you loved her and wanted to protect her just like what you are now doing for Claudine?”

“What bothers me most is that while she attacks my sister, Gretchen, and pictures her as evil personified, she seems to have forgotten the truth. Mom, as you have gone out of (your) way to answer the issues that Claudine ought to answer for herself, maybe it is high time to reflect on things and address these concerns as well.

“Hasn’t Claudine changed her mobile number many times while still owning many prepaid sim cards as well?”

“If there is anyone who cared more for her niece, we all know it is Gretchen, as she has proven when she chose to protect me and my siblings for a long, long time. This explains exactly why, as you said, we never complained about our childhood.”

Joaquin was also surprised that his mom refuses to reveal “the truth about Claudine’s condition. May I remind you that it was you and dad who had her put in a hospital because you wanted to save her from destroying herself. Yes, Claudine is going through rough times. Again.”

His final appeal: “Please put a stop to this before our family totally falls apart while there is still something to save.”

Gretchen admits “I’m hurting but I thank God still for all those who continue to love me.”

The Barretto feud is turning out to be far more entertaining than any teleserye. It has its twists and turns, and has attracted thousands of followers on Twitter and Instagram.

The question is, how much more battering can the family take?

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