James Reid. Image: Instagram/@james
James Reid lamented how “society” supposedly wants people to be themselves but then dictates them when they do not fit the standards, which fans speculated to be referencing Liza Soberano’s recent rebranding.
“Society: Be yourself! Also Society: No not like that…,” the actor-musician, whose talent label Careless Music manages the actress, wrote on his Twitter page on Friday, March 3.
This elicited different reactions from netizens, with some in support of Reid’s remark and others pointing out that embracing one’s self should be done with gratitude.
as long as you’re not hurting anyone, you CAN be yourself as much as you want.
— hermione (@bazinga31416) March 3, 2023
Louder….. Sad reality! We are the rudder of our own life not them. Just keep going, we know better ourselves than anyone!
— ishiaki_ (@newme08_) March 3, 2023
Just do whatever you wanna do, dont mind everyone else. Its ur life after all. Haters gonna hate. Life is too short to spend energy to people who are negative. If someone is going to support u then good, if not then so be it. Don’t let society control u.
— Kaimen Donayre (@K2i6e6) March 4, 2023
Tama … kaya admired you for being true to yourself, being honest and brave enough not to give in with the pressure of society’s norm… u are a game changer… take care of liza not a fan of her until i watched her vlog..
— Itssimplyjc (@itssimplyjc) March 3, 2023
ok lang maging be yourself pero maging mapag pasalamat. If you want to rebrand then do it without hurting anyone
— Thors0214 (@thors021479) March 4, 2023
Being yourself means doing what you love, not being ungrateful to people who helped you in the past.
— keemo1227 (@MjbKkd) March 4, 2023
Be yourself, but don’t be ungrateful. And you can also be whatever you want to be, but there’s no need for an ad campaign to showcase you as it will come off as less authentic.
— A M (@SolidBLeft) March 3, 2023
Soberano earlier made headlines after she opened up in her “This Is Me” vlog about her career in her previous management, saying she had no voice and “was told to just be a flower for so long.” She also revealed that her screen name “Liza” was just “chosen for [her].”
Ogie Diaz, Soberano’s former manager, responded to these claims and stressed that the actress was given the chance to say her opinion in every project she did. He also pointed out that her screen name was the reason she was able to provide for her family and leave a mark on her fans.
Soberano later clarified that she will always be grateful to Diaz and to those who have been part of her career, and stressed that her vlog was just a narration of things she has experienced and how she’s moving forward from all that. /ra