Mark Duane Angos, former ABS-CBN head writer responsible for such soaps as "Forevermore," "Dolce Amore," both starring Liza Soberano, recently took to social media to share his two cents about the actress' reason for striking out on her own as revealed in a vlog.
On Twitter, Mark shared how a friend asked him if he was "hurt" by the latter's "insinuation" that they "boxed" her so hard that it drove her away.
"That’s a horrible take," he said, noting that what he saw in the vlog was a person trying to figure herself out.
"To be fair, she’s only 'starting to dip her toes into writing,'" he related. "By the same token, she’s still trying to learn how to express herself better. So if she comes off hurtful to some of my colleagues, let’s be patient. She will be able to find the right words next time."
He reiterated: "I wasn’t hurt."
If ever, he's actually excited for Liza.
"I’m rooting for her with all my heart," Mark declared, ending his tweet with "-love, from the writer who wrote all those teleserye episodes."
Many didn't share his views.
Note that Star Creatives Head of Advertising and Rise Artists Studio Head Mico Rosario tweeted: "hiyang hiya naman ako sa statements. parang walang walang naambag sayo at all ah. kayo talagang mga kayo. hahahaha #hilap."
ABS-CBN Music head Roxy Liquigan penned: "Be Grateful. Not just in good times, but at all times."
https://twitter.com/Roxy_Liquigan/status/1629721848949919744
Others, like ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. screenwriter and creative supervisor Hyro Aguinaldo, were more open minded.
He added ,however, " I actually doubt the part where they were never asked for input or feedback because that isn't the company's creative process."
"Unlike most actors, they are afforded of one privilege: they don’t audition for roles. We actually audition for THEM. They hold that power to reject our stories, to say no to our work, and tell us what they want us to pitch," he said. "And that happens ALL THE TIME."
"But regardless, everyone should be afforded of the right to choose the path they would want to take, which stories they would want to do, and they shouldn’t be faulted for seeking that space," he continued. "They should be allowed to work in places where they feel comfortable and free."
He ended: "The business is synergistic in that sense. To blame is pointless. But responsibility lies with everyone."
They didn't actually mention Liza but many believe the statements were about her.
In Liza's vlog, she started by telling fans it wasn't her intention to make them feel "abandoned," reiterating she's simply going through "some changes."
"Everything was coming at me so fast. I didn't have the time to fully process what was going on and slowly found myself getting lost in the motions," was how she put it.
She would go on to explain how she found herself under Careless management.
According to her, coming out of the pandemic, she was feeling "very lost" and "introspective."
Around that time, her contract with both Star Magic and Ogie Diaz already ended.
She noted how the pandemic allowed her to stop and be still for the first time in her life, noting she has been working with no real break since she was a kid.
It also made her realize how she grew up and become an adult not on her own terms but other people.
"I had always been told what to do, what to wear, what to say, and what not to say," she said.
She knows it was for her own good and she was happy to have established a career, which she describes as something that "in many ways wasn't mine."
To emphasize her point, she revealed that she didn't pick Liza as screen name.
"It was chosen for me," she said.
According to Liza, it was James Reid who reached out to her "wondering what I was up to and seeing if I wanted to collaborate."
"Curiosity got the better of me and I decided I wanted to see what this could look like for me," she continued, relating how she met with James' team - a group of "young people who were all passionate and working hard" on different projects and their own individual dreams.
She actually worked at their office, admitting it was the closest thing she had to experiencing having a regular job.
A few months zoomed by and the team became her "family," she shared.
It was then that she eventually sat down with them and told them that she wants to let them manage her.
And Liza maintained she'll never forget the conversation they had.
"I asked them what the plan was for me and they said 'I don't know, you tell us. We're here to support whatever your dreams are.' That's when I knew I had found my team," she declared.
But she was actually saddened as to how some people reacted to her decision.
"I struggled with how some people were disappointed and upset with my decision. Even started doubting myself."
But obviously, she decided to simply go on with it.
"Looking back on everything that I've done. All the changes in my life and everything that I have achieved in a span of less than a year since transitioning into a new management and a new career direction, I have grown so much."