Actress Cherie Gil has sent a cease and desist letter through her lawyer Atty. Lorna Kapunan to the Viva Entertainment, makers of Bituin Walang Ningning The Musical and the management of the Resorts World Manila saying she has a right to the movie’s famous line.

As the original Lavinia Arguelles in the 1985 film Bituing Walang Ningning Cherie popularized the line, “You’re nothing but a second rate, trying hard, copycat” and she is now requesting the play’s management to stop the use of the line in the musical and claimed that it’s her intellectual property.

However, director and scriptwriter Emmanuel Borlaza, opposed Cherie Gil’s claim. He then told entertainment site Pep.ph that he’s willing to testify for Viva that the line was from him and the film’s original scriptwriter Orlando Nadres. He said Cherie beautifully delivered the line so it made a mark in the public’s consciousness as hers.