No permanent enemies: Why Joey de Leon defended Paul Soriano — and made a movie with Toni Gonzaga

The political adage, "There are no permanent enemies," also holds true in showbiz. Proof is that Paul Soriano's controversial statement describing his wife, Toni Gonzaga, as the country's "most powerful celebrity," had Joey de Leon coming to his defense.

De Leon and Gonzaga — who had worked together on the noontime show Eat Bulaga — co-star in My Teacher, an official entry at the 48th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

"Mali naman 'yung bashers. Pinuputol nila dun sa ano, e… Ang sinasabi ni Paul dun sa kabuuan, sabi niya, equally powerful 'yung mga tumitira kay Toni. E, hindi naman ito nagre-react, hindi natitinag. So powerful ito… mas powerful," De Leon said in a media conference at Winford Manila Resort & Casino to promote My Teacher.

Soriano's complete statement included: "You don't rattle relevant people if you're not doing something better than them, right? And you know, of course, you know, I'm her husband, and I'm very extremely proud of her. She's also one of the strongest people I know, right."

For context, De Leon admitted he didn't take kindly Gonzaga's moving out of Eat Bulaga in 2005 and joining

ABS-CBN: "Galit ako nuong araw sa kanya noong nilayasan niya kami. Nagtampo ako talaga. Pero nung nalaman ko na napangasawa niya si Paul (Soriano), okay na," said De Leon. "Nagtampo talaga ako dahil baby namin ito e."

Soriano, a grandson of matinee idol Nestor de Villa, directed the stage appearances and campaign videos of Bongbong Marcos' successful 2022 presidential run.

He's a nephew of First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos. President Marcos has appointed him Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications.

He also directed My Teacher.

De Leon said he joined the cast of My Teacher only when his buddy and comedy act partner Vic Sotto opted not to make an MMFF movie this year.

Soriano said that Gonzaga handpicked De Leon, 76, to play the aged student in My Teacher.