Liza Soberano feels 'hurt' by former manager Ogie Diaz for 'untrue' statements about her
Liza 'Hope' Soberano has broken her silence on what she truly feels about her former talent manager Ogie Diaz, admitting that she feels confused on why he is seemingly "trying to ruin her" amid her latest career decisions.
In the continuation of her talk with Boy Abunda on his afternoon show Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, Boy asked Liza if it's true that Ogie is no longer collecting commission fees from her for the past two years. The question rendered the actress emotional as she said that the infomation is incorrect.
"It actually hurts me that he's making up those lies about me," Liza said before she paused, overwhelmed by tears.
She continued, "I feel like he's trying to make it seem like I wasn't profitable in the past two years that we were working together when he knows the truth, he knows my pains. He knows the things I felt were mishandled and stuff like that. So I feel like he's trying to tarnish my name."
Liza claimed that he still gets commission from her endorsements that still fall under her contract with him, even though he no longer has any obligations towards her in those deals.
"Last month, we gave him a paycheck for an endorsement that was renewed before our contract ended. And kahit na wala na po siyang ginagawa for that, we still gave him commission because that's what's right," Liza said, saying that Ogie is going to get another one this week.
When asked if he has any ill feelings towards her previous manager, Liza nodded.
"Natapos naman po yung kontrata namin nang tama, nang maayos, nang hindi po kami magkaaway, super nagkakaintindihan po kami. Ang pagkakaintindi ko po, suportado siya sa lahat ng gusto ko. Ako rin naman po, ganun towards him," Liza said.
Five months before her contract ended with him, Liza explained to Ogie that she was thankful for everything he gave her and helping her achieve the status she has today.
"Nilinaw ko sa kanya, 'Tito Ogie, I'm grateful to you. I'm so thankful for everything that I've achieved and experienced because of you and your guidance and I will forever hold in my heart the lessons you have taught me ... but by the time that our contract ends, hindi na po ako magrerenew' and inexplain ko kung bakit," she recounted.
She made it clear to him that it wasn't because she didn't like working with him nor because she was unhappy with her career. Rather, it was because she wanted growth, she believed she could attain this by working with other people.
Ogie took the news well and expressed his support towards Liza's wishes.
"We were okay, so I don't understand why he is choosing to fight me. It feels like he's trying to fight me, or trying to ruin me when I never said a single bad thing about him," Liza said.
"He's saying so many things that are untrue, like for the past two years, hindi po siya kumukuha ng commission. It makes me sound even more ungrateful to the people na hindi naman nakakaalam kung ano 'yung nangyayari sa loob. He's calling me ungrateful when he knows very well how grateful I was to ABS-CBN," she added.
Liza wished that Ogie would have messaged her privately first before airing his sentiments to the public.
"Parang hindi niya ako anak, kahit anak 'yung tawag niya sa'kin," she said.
To recall, the issue regarding Liza's career first erupted when she released a video where she opened up how she felt about her showbiz career as a whole, such as how she was pigeonholed into limiting projects. She also confessed that being confined in a love team with Enrique Gil boxed her from more opportunities.
Many netizens have since accused her of being an "inggrata" and "walang utang na loob," including some key personalities and executives from ABS-CBN.
For Ogie, he shared in a vlog on his YouTube channel that there were compromises made between Liza and the management, saying: "Anak, lagi kang binibigyan ng chance to say your piece, your opinion, your suggestion. Pinapakinggan ka rin naman 'pag may complaints ka pero minsan diba we have to meet halfway."
Regarding Liza's screen name, where the actress said it wasn’t chosen by her, Ogie reminded the actress that the name helped her and her family.
"'Yung sinabi mo na 'I didn't choose the name Liza, it was chosen for me.' Anak 'yung screen name na Liza Soberano na ibinigay sa'yo ni Tita Malou Santos, ng Star Cinema, 'yan ang nagtaguyod sa pamilya mo."