Dolly de Leon says a celeb’s craft deserves more focus than personal life

For Dolly de Leon, reporting on someone’s craft deserves to be put in the spotlight rather than their personal lives which, she stressed, are none of people’s business.

“Maybe we should focus more on what people do in terms of their craft, rather than what they do in their personal lives. Because it’s personal,” de Leon told INQUIRER.net on the sidelines of Rolling Stone Philippines’ launch event in Makati, when asked how mainstream media should improve in terms of reporting on art, culture, theater and other related mediums.

Her remark came after winning Best Supporting Actress at the Critics Choice Association’s (CCA) celebration of the AAPI Cinema and Television in Los Angeles last November.

De Leon also starred in the films “Between the Temples,” “Ghostlight” and “Jackpot!” in 2024, and is set to make an appearance in the series “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “Severino: The First Serial Killer” in the coming year.

“Let’s focus more on the art that they create instead of what they do behind closed doors because it’s none of our business,” she said, noting that having more platforms that report on art, culture, films, theater and entertainment is “relevant” since it informs the public that local artists are “alive and kicking.”

Touching on the local magazine’s theme, de Leon also shared that one of the “most rockstar things” she ever did was to swim at the fountain of a luxury hotel in Makati.

“Nag-swimming ako sa fountain ng The Peninsula Manila. Teenager ako n’un. Galing akong inuman and sabi ko may swimming pool, ‘Tara swimming tayo.’ Tapos kasama ko ang friend kong adventurous. Tumalon kami. Walang nakakita sa’min, madaling araw na ‘yun,” she recalled.

(I swam at the fountain of The Peninsula Manila when I was a teenager. I came from a drinking session and I told my friend who had an adventurous personality, “Come, let’s swim.” So we jumped. No one saw us because it happened early in the morning.)

The actress was one of the celebrities invited to the launch of Rolling Stone Philippines, under the Modern Media Group Inc. The conglomerate is also home to Nylon Manila and Billboard Philippines. Also seen at the event were Ely Buendia and Janno Gibbs.

The star-studded event was led by the agency's CEO Archie Carrasco, COO Anne Bernisca, as well as the platform's chief of editorial content Jonty Cruz and digital editor Sai Versailles.

According to Cruz, the entertainment and lifestyle platform aims to “bring back the sense of attitude” in the media industry. “When you ask people what ‘Rolling Stone’ is — it’s rock and roll and music. But I think, when it’s all said and done, and when you see our content, you’ll get a sense of ‘Oh, this is another level of storytelling.’”

(2024/12/15-17:47)