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Metrospective: Liza Soberano on Being Vocal and Authentic

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<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755366092568531398288_18523867375037260_7548816253282020053_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Liza Soberano on the &quot;Can I Come In?&quot; podcast | Photo from @sarahbahbah</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><em>Content warning: The following article contains discussions on abuse.<br/></em></div><p>In a cinematic, documentary-style revelation of a painful truth from her past, <strong>Liza Soberano</strong> entrusted her story to <strong>Sarah Bahbah.</strong> The Arab-Australian artist collaborated with the Filipino actress for the former&#x27;s <strong>&quot;Can I Come In?&quot;</strong> podcast, with an episode Sarah described as &quot;raw, real, intense, uncomfortable, healing, powerful.&quot;</p><p>With a platform that allowed her to be vulnerable and feel safe confiding at the same time, Liza shared stories she had never shared before—unfiltered, unscripted, no-holds-barred. </p><p>&quot;I am not a therapist, I’m simply there to hold space and gently prompt her through the story she chose to share,&quot; said Sarah, who served as the podcast&#x27;s director/host. &quot;This episode might make you feel uncomfortable. It is raw, vulnerable, and deeply human. Please handle it with care. Liza deserves all the love in the world.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="925" height="525" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z4uJCqFz03w?si=jYVfUwi5i5oeRNHA" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" spellcheck="false"></iframe><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>In the 56-minute-long podcast-cinema-documentary hybrid, Liza talked about a painful childhood, where she experienced being neglected by her parents, Jacqueline and John, and had to endure more traumatic times when her parents broke up and her mother dated a guy named Michael, whom Liza described as &quot;really bad news.&quot;</p><p>But perhaps the most disturbing of all is how her foster guardian, Melissa, abused her. According to Liza, she was that family&#x27;s &quot;dog&quot; and particularly felt that way during the family&#x27;s once-a-week movie nights, which she was not allowed to join. &quot;They would literally call me the family dog, and I would have to sit in like a big cardboard box behind the sofa, and I would actually sit there like a dog,&quot; she revealed in tears, adding that there were even incidents where Melissa made her lick dog feces. </p><p>This &quot;Can I Come In?&quot; episode is packed with revelation after revelation, including a chapter dedicated to former onscreen partner and ex-boyfriend <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/people/digital-covers/enrique-gil-comeback-film-i-am-not-big-bird/37535" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Enrique Gil </strong></a>and their breakup.</p><div><br/></div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-22" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNGaXVBRFuT/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=971&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A22%2C%22os%22%3A18537236.3%2C%22ls%22%3A384672.5%2C%22le%22%3A385227.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-22" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div></div><p>This was the first time Liza opened up about these shocking chapters of her life, but she has been known for her authenticity and commitment to helping spread awareness about her advocacies. </p><p>In an exclusive <strong>Metro.Style</strong> interview back in August 2021, Liza commented on how vocal and authentic people perceive her to be. </p><p>&quot;I think it&#x27;s always been pretty innate in me, but it was just a matter of me not being open to sharing that with the world, because I don&#x27;t like it when people question how genuine I am when it comes to certain things. And I noticed that people—or maybe, like, people online—usually, if you post something good... I mean, of course, there are a lot of people who have a lot of good things to say, but then there are always the naysayers. And I know that they don&#x27;t really matter, because this is just a few of them. But I can&#x27;t take it when people question how genuine I am about certain things. </p><p>&quot;So one of those is my advocacies, and me being, I guess, a human rights advocate in general. Because, yes, I am primarily focusing on children&#x27;s rights and women&#x27;s rights. But I think, more than anything, I&#x27;m a human rights advocate. And I guess I became more open to talking about that, or sharing that side of me last year [2020] when the pandemic happened and so much was going on, and I just couldn&#x27;t take being quiet anymore.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="925" height="525" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZKc9S14I6LU?si=17Qxd0Ic28VUUt3Z" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><p>In this past M<strong></strong>etro Talks<strong></strong> interview, Liza also shared that Hollywood celebrities who stood up for the Black Lives Matter movement inspired her to start speaking up. &quot;I realized how big of an impact, or how big of an influence my voice can have for the better of people,&quot; she noted. </p><p style="text-align:left">With vulnerability and authenticity on full display in Sarah Bahbah&#x27;s &quot;Can I Come In?&quot; podcast, Liza deeply touched people&#x27;s hearts with her strength and courage, inspiring many with how she turned pain into power.</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">Lead photo from <strong>@lizasoberano</strong></p><div></div>

<p>In an exclusive Metro.Style interview back in August 2021, Liza Soberano shared, "I can't take it when people question how genuine I am about certain things."</p>

In an exclusive Metro.Style interview back in August 2021, Liza Soberano shared, "I can't take it when people question how genuine I am about certain things."

Metro Talks: Liza Soberano on Being Authentic and Learning to Speak Up

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Metro Talks: Liza Soberano on Being Authentic and Learning to Speak Up

Grace Libero

Published Aug 17, 2025 08:30 AM PHT

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Updated Aug 17, 2025 08:51 AM PHT

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