Content creator Dani Barretto went public with serious allegations against comedian and actor Dennis Padilla on Friday, firing back at him in an Instagram comment after he weighed in on a clip from Almost Honest, a podcast hosted by Kylie Verzosa where Dani spoke about what her mother had allegedly endured during her childhood.
Padilla’s comment on the viral clip — in which he wrote “I will answer point by point…” — drew a lengthy and pointed response from Dani, who accused her stepfather of exploiting social media to defend himself while distorting the truth and manipulating those around him.
“i think you’re forgetting we all lived in the same house. That we woke up to your screams almost every morning. Kung hindi si mom sinisigawan mo, one of the help. This is what you always do, use social media to ‘defend’ yourself and spread more lies and gaslight your children and now me,” Dani wrote, directing her remarks at Padilla’s Instagram handle @dennisastig.
Dani challenged his portrayal of himself as the wronged party, questioning who the actual source of harm was in their household. She recalled that his pattern of screaming extended beyond their home.
“You keep pushing this narrative na kinawawa ka. Weren’t you the abusive one? kahit nasaan tayo, kahit sa mall, sa grocery, wala kang pinipiling lugar para may sigawan. Default mo yan noon hanggang ngayon,” she wrote.
She also claimed that Padilla would call his children, often in the early hours, while intoxicated — and that the calls were used to berate and shout at them. “Diba tatawag ka sa mga anak mo mostly laling madaling araw kasi lasing ka para murahin at sigawan lang sila?” she said, before closing that portion of her statement: “Enough is enough.”
Padilla’s estrangement from several of his children has been a recurring public flashpoint. His falling out with Julia, Claudia, and Leon Barretto — his children with former wife Marjorie Barretto — became widely known following Claudia’s April 2025 wedding, where Padilla publicly complained of being treated as a guest rather than as the father of the bride. Marjorie subsequently alleged physical abuse in her own account of their relationship.
Dani, who is Marjorie’s daughter with actor Kier Legaspi and is not Padilla’s biological child, said the breakdown in his relationships with his children was not something that happened to him, but a consequence of his own actions.
“All your kids know who you are. That’s why most of them have no communication with you. Because you burned bridges with each of them. Pero sa kwento mo, sila ang mali and ikaw parin ang kawawa. Make it make sense,” she wrote.
