Charles Teves
After requesting her supporters to call her “Hope” in an e-commerce ad several months ago, Liza Soberano has clarified that she prefers to be referred to as “Liza” when out in public.
Her “This is Me” vlog sparked controversy, and she gained attention when she mentioned her desire to be referred to as “Hope” in a teaser for an e-commerce advertisement shared on Instagram in February 2023.
“Please call me Hope,” she said in the video.
Soberano acknowledged in an interview with Esquire Philippines that she still feels taken aback when people address her as “Hope” instead of her stage name in public.
She explained that her previous statement had been misinterpreted.
“It’s actually very surprising to me because now when I go out, people call me ‘Hope.’ I’ve been to concerts and stuff and people would scream ‘Hope! Hope!’ I love my name and everything, but now I was like, ‘Oh my God, I was so misunderstood,” she said.
“Like this is not what I want. I still want to be known as Liza. And people comment on Instagram, too. They ask, ‘Why is your name still Liza?’” she added.
She clarified that she did not choose her stage name for herself.
However, she wanted to convey to the public that there are two aspects to her personality, “Liza” and “Hope”.
Soberano’s former talent manager, Ogie Diaz, stated in a Vlog in February 2023 that her stage name was selected by Malou Santos from Star Cinema.
“So, I was kind of trying to show people that there are two sides of me: there’s Liza and there’s Hope,” she shared.
The news was then laughed at by the Internet community, with some people confused by it.
Sis actually we don’t hate you. Lito lang kami nang very light
— AltABSCBN (@AltABSCBN) April 25, 2023
Di ba yun naman gusto mo. Just be happy. Wag ka na ma surpresa since ikaw naman nag pasimuno na baguhin ang itawag sayo
— Felix Nelson (@Tikoymanstur) April 25, 2023
This girl is now on the same levels as that labrador guy when it comes to publicity
— N (@macronikki) April 25, 2023
Uuuuy trying to be relevant again.. tama na.. 🙅🏻♀️
— bree 🫡🌷💝 (@breecreates_kai) April 25, 2023
Please be serious. https://t.co/p02lNYz8Xd
— Princess of Asturias-Plaza (@adto113) April 25, 2023
Hopia!!!!! https://t.co/sBDj8mxM51
— 💎BUTIKA BUTIKI🧤👠📸 (@MadamPowerSleep) April 25, 2023
Nag ingay na nman tapos ang gulo ni Inday. Ano ba talaga? Hahaha
From a-lister to clown 🤣 https://t.co/dw7NDZjVXO— Ashes (@elisseashley) April 25, 2023
In the interview, the actress shared that the criticism she faced after her Vlog was an extremely stressful period for her. She felt like an “outcast” in the public.
Soberano explained, “Honestly, I didn’t imagine that things would turn out the way they did at the time. That period was a very stressful time for me because I felt very misunderstood. I felt in a way, more or less, like I didn’t belong anywhere. I felt like I was being an outcast.”
Soberano also disclosed that she returned back to the United States to spend time with her family and “reconnect with herself” after the incident.
She considered the controversial Vlog to be a “learning experience” that occurred for a specific reason. The actress shared, “I was sad about the way things turned out back then. But like, it’s also a learning lesson, you know, everything that happened for a reason and there was some bad but there was also some good and I’m just going to take everything that I learned from that and become better.”
In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Soberano discussed the confusion between her stage name and her birth name. She stated that the advertisement was intended to provide her with a “clean slate” as an artist.
Soberano made headlines recently when she was seen in New York with Kevin Kwan, the author of “Crazy Rich Asians,” and Diane Paragas, a Filipino-American filmmaker based in the United States. This fuelled rumors that she may be part of the film sequel, “Lisa Frankenstein.”
