MANILA, Philippines – Model Kelsey Merritt defended herself against bashers who said that “she’s not Pinay enough.”
The Filipino-American model recently made a mark in the fashion world as the first ever Filipina chosen to walk in the iconic Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Merritt, whose mother is a Filipina gave the honor to the Philippines saying, “We did it, Philippines!” She went on to thank all her followers calling them her “rock” and saying “I couldn’t have done this without you guys. Thank you for your never ending support I LOVE Y’ALL!!!”
While many applauded and celebrated with Merritt, there were those who downplayed her success, commenting that her “eurocentric looks” was nothing close to a “pure Pinay” beauty. Several netizens shared their opinion that Merritt doesn’t represent Filipinos.
Merritt, a graduate of Ateneo de Manila University didn’t back down and defended herself from bashers. On Twitter, the model explained in Tagalog that only was she born in the Philippines but she actually grew up in Pampanga. Merritt added, “Mas pinoy pa dugo ko kesa sa mga “pure” na hindi pa nakatapak sa Pilipinas. I love my country and I’m proud of where I came from.”
Several netizens went on to give their support to Merritt saying that the model is a Filipino by heart. They questioned why “half-Pinoys” seem to be bashed when they represent Filipino culture.
Victoria Secret Fashion Show is considered to be the “most watched fashion event in the world.” Annually, it has an estimate of 800 million viewers and costs a whopping average of $12 million spent for the show.
— Sally, The Summit Express
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| Kelsey Merritt is the first Filipina to soon walk the Victoria's Secret runway. Photo Courtesy: Instagram/Kelsey Merritt |
The Filipino-American model recently made a mark in the fashion world as the first ever Filipina chosen to walk in the iconic Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Merritt, whose mother is a Filipina gave the honor to the Philippines saying, “We did it, Philippines!” She went on to thank all her followers calling them her “rock” and saying “I couldn’t have done this without you guys. Thank you for your never ending support I LOVE Y’ALL!!!”
WE DID IT PHILIPPINES!!!!!! 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭 I’m walking in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2018!!! Ahhhhhh I can’t believe this!! Thank you soooo much @johndavidpfeiffer, @monica.mitro, @10magazine, and Ed Razek for making my dream come true!! ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/sjR7X2FuEn— Kelsey Merritt (@kelsmerritt) September 7, 2018
While many applauded and celebrated with Merritt, there were those who downplayed her success, commenting that her “eurocentric looks” was nothing close to a “pure Pinay” beauty. Several netizens shared their opinion that Merritt doesn’t represent Filipinos.
kelsey meritt walking for vs is so disappointing, she doesn’t even look Filipino. she only got casted bc of european features. if someone with full filipino features were to audition, i doubt it’d be that easy considering how discriminative vs is against poc https://t.co/Zcggq00XEK— ȶɛɛ♡ (@poorvirgin) September 9, 2018
Merritt, a graduate of Ateneo de Manila University didn’t back down and defended herself from bashers. On Twitter, the model explained in Tagalog that only was she born in the Philippines but she actually grew up in Pampanga. Merritt added, “Mas pinoy pa dugo ko kesa sa mga “pure” na hindi pa nakatapak sa Pilipinas. I love my country and I’m proud of where I came from.”
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| Merritt is a graduate of Ateneo de Manila University. |
Pinanganak ako sa Pilipinas at lumaki ako sa Pampanga. Tinapos ko ang pagaaral ko sa Manila bago ako lumipat sa US last year. Mas pinoy pa dugo ko kesa sa mga “pure” na hindi pa nakatapak sa Pilinipas. I love my country and I’m proud of where I came from. ❤️— Kelsey Merritt (@kelsmerritt) September 9, 2018
Several netizens went on to give their support to Merritt saying that the model is a Filipino by heart. They questioned why “half-Pinoys” seem to be bashed when they represent Filipino culture.
why do some people gotta downplay the fact that kelsey meritt Is Indeed half filipino??? and that’s all that matters???? that we filipinos finally at least have representation on the vs fashion show??? she’s filipino at heart and even studied here so what’s with the whole -— 🏹 (@polybts) September 8, 2018
People are clamoring for representation in a realm where it’s not necessary.@kelsmerritt got in a fashion show. Not a film where she plays a Filipina, nor a pageant as "Ms. Philippines"— AND YET, she dedicated the achievement to her home country. What more do you want?— Maqui Castelo (@CaliforniaMaqui) September 9, 2018
Kelsey Merritt having heavy eurocentric features doesn't take away the fact that she actually identifies as Filipino & grew up in the Philippines. That's a whole lot better than how twitter forces brown Fil-Ams as the token Fil rep when they dont know shit about Filipino culture— Gabe Legaspi (@Gabe_Legaspi) September 9, 2018
Victoria Secret Fashion Show is considered to be the “most watched fashion event in the world.” Annually, it has an estimate of 800 million viewers and costs a whopping average of $12 million spent for the show.
— Sally, The Summit Express
