We often hear him on radio or see him on TV dishing out precious, life-changing words of advice to his audiences, delivered in his own unique, fun and witty way. He surely is a breath of positivity and optimism as well as a voice of reason and sensibility to people seeking his counsel on air and off. The smart and likable guy that he is, it did not come as a surprise to many when his programs eventually skyrocketed in popularity, enabling him to eventually clinch the tag “Star DJ of FM radio,” for he deserves every bit of such recognition.
True to his “title,” however, stars always shine the brightest against the darkest of nights. And only recently, Mr. Fu found himself having to deal with a situation that nearly dimmed his light.
The “issue” was all over the news. It was the perfect tabloid material. Mr. Fu, who’s been doing an online show entitled “Take It Per Minute May Ganun?” along with the grand dames of Pinoy Entertertainment Chismis, Lolit Solis and Cristy Fermin, has been offered by a popular mass retail chain to do a new online talk show together with his co-hosts and the Queen of All Media, Kris Aquino. Everything has been set. Talents have all confirmed. Talent Fees have all been agreed upon. A November 8 break date has been committed for the new show.
Just a few days before the show’s premiere airing, the two lady hosts received a text from Kris saying: “Ok kayong dalawa sa akin, but not Mr. Fu. Hindi ka-level. I don’t know him. He is no match sa atin.” Opting to break the sad news to their unknowing co-host, whom they have considered as a son, Cristy and Lolit decided to show the message to Mr. Fu themselves.
“I immediately said, ok lang po. Mataas naman po ang EQ (Emotional Quotient) ko sa ganyan. No problem po. Ituloy nyo na po yung show,” was the response that Mr. Fu gave to his “showbiz moms.” Feeling slighted for their ward, the two ladies assured: “Hindi nila itutuloy ang show kung hindi ako kasama.”
While the resulting negotiations among the three lady hosts eventually convinced Kris to take in Mr. Fu, albeit on a trial period, in the end, the two ladies decided to back out from and drop the project altogether, turning their backs from what could have been a profitable deal for themselves. In a social media post, Lolit Solis had this to say about the issue: “Honestly, Mr. Fu is worth the bullet, masaya siya kasama sa trabaho, alam niya ang lugar nya, team player siya, very sharp at pleasant. Sayang at hindi natikman o nakita ni Kris ang mga qualities na iyon ni Mr. Fu.”
When sought by the Thrillmaker to comment on how he felt about the whole thing, Mr. Fu said: “Of course, it was sad. Alam mo yung feeling na nahusgahan yung pagkatao at kakayahan mo ng isang taong hindi ka naman kilala. Well, to be fair, tama naman sya. Hindi niya ako kilala, that’s a fact. I’d give it to her. Yung hindi ka-level, that’s her opinion and everyone’s entitled to their opinions. Nirerespeto ko yun.”
Further asked if the statements affected his self-worth, Mr. Fu answered: “Not really. I have long accepted the fact that people will always have something to say about others be it in show business or elsewhere. Now having said that, I also realized that I will never allow myself to be defined by what others think of or do to me. In the end, their own actions will define who they are—their true character.” And the lesson he learned from it? “Humility. Just stay humble. In war, humility is the only thing that those against you will never do. Me ganon?!”