Says she prepared for her debut on the hit Fox TV show "Glee" by getting Botox injections and an anti-aging procedure "to look fresh on camera."
The Filipino singer with a booming voice saw her career skyrocket after appearing on Ellen DeGeneres' and Oprah Winfrey's talk shows.
But Charice's publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said in an e-mail that the Botox was "absolutely not cosmetic," adding that the treatment was to relieve jaw pain.
Belo did the Botox procedure in front of the cameras.
"You chew gum and it turns out to be a favorite super-exercise for these muscles, your chewing muscles. So we will show you, this muscle here it's a bit protruding," Belo said as she touched Charice's face. "It's like a ball, so we are going to Botox that in order to get it flat so she will have a cuter face ... we want to give you the apple cheek look because it's cute, right?"
Charice, in the same interview, said her face makeover was part of her big preparations for her appearance on the hit show's second season. She starts filming at the end of this month.
"All people will be anticipating how will Charice look? Is she good enough to pit against Rachel Berry? So of course there is tremendous pressure," Charice said. Berry is portrayed by Lea Michele, who is 23.
Dr. Malcolm Roth, president of New York's Society of Plastic Surgeons and director of plastic surgery at Maimonides Medical Center in New York, said he wasn't sure how someone so young could benefit from Botox.
But Roth said there might be some benefits for on-camera teens in Hollywood. "Some people do have hyperactive muscles and muscles are what create the wrinkles in certain types of expressions. ... It may be of some benefit for the camera, but I would be reticent to consider Botox for a normal 18-year-old."
Charice Pempengco Gets Botox
Now this is where it gets weird…Charice decided to get botox and Thermage skin-tightening for her “Glee” debut. Botox and skin tightening for an 18 year old?! Seriously?! Is the recession that bad that plastic surgeons need to lure in teens and perform unnecessary procedures in order to make their payments on their Porsches and million dollar mortgages? Whomever it was that agreed to give Charice (or any teenager) Botox is an unethical scumbag, if you ask me.
Why Teen Singer Charice Got Botox
Eighteen-year-old singer Charice is prepping for her upcoming role on Glee by doing more than brushing up on her acting skills.
Charice was treated by local cosmetic dermatologist Vicki Belo, who is the medical director of several skin clinics in the country. Belo said that she aimed to alter the shape of the singer's “naturally round face.”
“Charice's face, I’ve been noticing, it's been getting wider," Belo was quoted as saying. She blamed the widening on the singer's gum-chewing habit. "Our chewing muscles, if you chew a lot of gums, it gets bigger.”
Charice – who will play an exchange student on Glee and a rival to Lea Michele's Rachel – admitted she felt pressure to look good for the hit TV series.
"All people will be anticipating how will Charice look? Is she good enough to pit against Rachel Berry? So of course there is tremendous pressure," she said.
The singer's rep confirms she had Botox, but says it was not for cosmetic purposes. "She's had Botox for some jaw pain she's experiencing." (Botox can be used to ease pain from TMJ.)
However, she noted that Charice will look different on the show: "She had her hair colored at the Brad Johns Studio at Elizabeth Arden," says her rep. "That's the only vaguely cosmetic thing she's done."
