A look back at the life of Lolit Solis
Lolit Solis. Image: Instagram/@akosilolitsolis
Before she became known for her no-holds-barred showbiz commentaries, Lolit Solis worked as a cub reporter who covered the police beat after graduating with a communication degree from the University of the Philippines.
From hard news, Solis entered the colorful world of entertainment media and wrote for the entertainment section of a broadsheet. This later led her to land talk show-hosting stints that included “Scoop,” “Startalk” and “CelebriTV.”
Not long after, Solis put on the talent-manager hat and took celebrities including Gabby Concepcion, the late actor Rudy Fernandez, Lorna Tolentino, Christopher de Leon, Bong Revilla and Tonton Gutierrez under her care.
But as she traversed the showbiz industry as one of its feisty figures, Solis also had a fair share of controversies.
In 1994, Solis manipulated the results of the Manila Film Festival Best Actor and Best Actress awards, which were initially given to her then-talents Gabby Concepcion and Ruffa Gutierrez instead of real winners Edu Manzano and Aiko Melendez.
The manipulation was later revealed by Gretchen Barretto, one of the presenters of the awards, who pinpointed Solis as well as Ruffa’s mom, Annabelle Rama, as the mastermind behind the “scam.”
Then-Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim called for an investigation into the incident, with Solis later admitting to orchestrating it and saying she did such for the sake of her talents.
“It was a nightmare for me, the biggest lesson in my life,” Solis said in a 2018 reflection.
Over a decade later, Solis was involved in yet another controversy in 2007 after she wrote a column in which she claimed she saw actors Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby being cozy with each other.
Days after the column was published, the actors demanded an apology and retraction from Solis. When the columnist refused and insisted on the sighting, the two filed for a P12-million libel lawsuit against Solis.
Solis later signed a Statement of Retraction and apologized to Pascual and Milby, which prompted the actors’ withdrawal of the case. Solis and Pascual were even able to patch things up in 2017.
Lolit Solis and Piolo Pascual. Photo by Izel Abanilla
Aside from Pascual and Milby, Solis revealed in the past that she also faced a libel complaint filed by Alma Moreno. The case was eventually withdrawn.
In 2022, Solis made headlines after she accused Bea Alonzo of removing her from the list of the invited press members in the actress’ endorsement event. Solis called out Alonzo’s team for “power tripping,” prompting the actress’ talent manager Shirley Kuan to clarify that she was the one who decided on the matter.
The feud between the two camps escalated and led to Solis being expelled from Professional Artist Managers Inc. (PAMI). The expulsion came after Solis made public via her Instagram page a message sent by Kuan through the group’s Viber group.
According to the organization’s head, Solis’ action breached the group’s confidentiality agreement.
Despite this, Solis and Alonzo reconciled in 2023, with the talent manager saying, “I was never angry with her. It’s just that she is close to someone I don’t like. I have long said that when I get the chance to see her personally, I will definitely say sorry.”
“Even Lorna Tolentino and Christopher de Leon would tell me that Bea is a kind person. That’s why I asked myself, ‘Why did I do this to her when we’ve never had any quarrels in the past?’” Solis further noted at the time.
Alonzo, for her part, accepted Solis’ apology and said she was glad that there was accountability for the action committed.
Lolit Solis (middle) confirmed that she reconciled with Bea Alonzo (rightmost). Image: Instagram/@akosilolitsolis
While controversies might have clouded her career, Solis stood out with her fearless voice that will be echoed by those she inspired. /ra
