It doesn't pay to be on the opposite side of Anderson Cooper of CNN, two celebrities found out this week.

MSNBC decided not to air on Sunday night the Up Late, the new talk show hosted by actor Alec Baldwin who was criticised by Mr Cooper for his anti-gay rants.

On the same day, rumours circulated in Manila that ABS-CBN newsreader Korina Sanchez was allegedly suspended for one week by the broadcast station for her criticism of the CNN reporter's story on the conspicuous absence of government in Tacloban City, which was badly battered by super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

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The speculation that the wife of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas was suspended - or in showbiz parlance, forced to go on one week vacation from her radio talk show on DZMM and newsreading tasks in its anchor news programme, TV Patrol - was a showbiz column in tabloid Pilipino Star Ngayon by writer Salve Asis.

Ms Asis said the official ABS-CBN version would be that Ms Sanchez went on vacation. She was last seen on Thursday night in TV Patrol after she was rained by netizens for her criticism of Mr Cooper's report, prompting the newsreader to file a report from Ormoc City. But she wasn't seen in the Friday edition of the news programme, although she came out in her Sunday magazine show, Rated K, which was probably taped ahead of the controversy.

Despite the lack of confirmation that she was suspended, a number of Twitter members expressed their sentiment about the matter.

Miki Martinez disagrees with the reported one week suspension and wants it longer. Denise Manaog Daya added, "Naaah! Make it 1 year please!"

But alyxs has a longer time frame in mind. "Dapat lifetime suspension si Korina Sanchez dahil kung hindi kasiraan yan ng @ABSCBNNews. Mawawala and tiwala ng mga tao sa mga reporter nyo!" (It should be lifetime suspension because Korina Sanchez damages the reputation of ABSCBN News. It will lose the trust of viewers in their reporters.)

NEL added, "Kung ako si @Korina_Sanchez hindi na ako babalik sa TV after sa suspension niya. Nakakahiya kaya yun." (If I were Korina Sanchez, I would no longer return to TV after being suspended. It is embarrassing).

Reflecting what many netizens think, Katherine Catipay tweeted, "Going to sleep with a smile on my face: Korina Sanchez was give(n) a suspension by ABS-CBN. Time to save that little credibility she has left."

In the case of Mr Baldwin, Mr Cooper's tweet about the actor's Thursday anti-gay slur against a photographer likewise helped build public opinion against the actor/TV host, prompting MSNBC to temporarily pull out his show for two weeks, at least.

Although the backlash on Ms Sanchez, whether it was the deluge of negative comments from netizens or a real one-week suspension, was unintentional on the CNN anchor's part, people thank him now also for helping take off the air, if only temporarily, a personality whom many Filipinos find too strong for their taste. As @gaycy stated it: "good job Anderson Cooper, korina sanchez deserves the suspension."

Ms Sanchez actually took a more than one year of absence from ABC-CBN when her husband ran for vice president unsuccessfully in 2010.

ABS-CBN has been mum about the whole issue, while rival network had reported the netizen backlash that Ms Sanchez got from social media in this report.

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She is not the first talent to be "suspended" by ABS-CBN. A few years ago, news reader and reporter Ces Drilon was also suspended after she went for an interview with a bandit group even without the approval of management, resulting in her and the crew being kidnapped and almost killed.

Actor Baron Geisler was also suspended after an actress complained of sexual molestation, which was on top of several other complaints by other actresses versus the alcoholic young actor.

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