WHEN STARS CLAP BACK

In the age of social media — particularly in the Philippines with a staggering 86.75 million active social media users as of January 2024 — making it with 70-plus percent of the whole population can bog one down with as much weight as one’s number of followers.

This is because the more followers you get, the more you are prone to bashers or negative comments.

Filipino celebrities have learned to answer back at bashers in many different forms, and here are the most recent celebrity “clappers.”

For actress Alexa Ilacad, body shaming and negative comments are not new in almost every post on social media. Here’s one reply she gave that gained a lot of likes and hearts from her followers. 

“Last time I checked, ang trabaho ko po bilang artista ay umarte, kumanta, sumayaw minsan, at magpasaya ng tao (my work as an actor involved acting, singing, dancing and sometimes to entertain). Which I love doing, Buuut it isn’t part of my job description to tolerate rude comments like this. Constructive criticism — I accept with an open heart, but this? Nah. Such a toxic mindset. (It’s) 2024 na pero hindi ka pa rin aware na (but you are still unaware that) our bodies come in different shapes, sizes and proportions? I’d suggest you to hit the books before making comments that are very... “off,” Alexa said.

For singer and actress Geneva Cruz, on her post wearing a sexy two-piece bikini that became a bashers’ favorite. 

“Yesterday, I was tagged by a female follower on a beach cover-up that isn’t my style. I appreciate your concern, Miss, but just because a fashionista wears something, it should be what I should be wearing, too. ‘Di ka na nakuntento sa comment mo na halatang bitter lang talaga (You obviously were not contented just making a comment that was already so bitter). Just so you know, I. DON’T. CARE. WHAT. YOU. THINK. OF. ME. I will wear a swimsuit on the beach or at home if I want to. NO ONE SHOULD BE SHAMED for wearing proper swimwear. And to those of you who get inspired to give their bodies more love because of my posts, I am glad l’m able to do that. I’d rather have followers who see me beyond the surface. I am never going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s alright with me,” Geneva said. 

In her Instagram Live, Heart Evangelista shared a time when she used to cry over her videos’ low views because “numbers and all of that would matter. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just be happy and not get angry,” she added.

Heart shared that being on Fashion Weeks is her passion, and it’s also something that she just truly enjoys.

“In fact, yes, it was a living, it’s what I do, but it is not only what I do,” she said.

“Isang ubo ko lang, nagagastos ko rin ‘yung kinita ko, so hindi rin siya for a living,” she added. “It’s just really what I enjoy.”

For It’s Showtime host Anne Curtis, one of the most followed celebrity on all social media platforms, a simple one-liner to a netizens who made fun of the TV host and actress’ trademark lips. 

“Hindi ko kelangan ng surgeon or any doctor dahil I was born and blessed with these lips or bunganga, as you say (I don’t need a surgeon or any doctor because I was born and blessed with these lips or mouth, as you say),” Anne answered on X.