Never stooping down for low blows, Kathryn Bernardo and Kim Chiu prove that self-awareness and self-love, as well as heaps of humor are enough to silence their haters.
Related: Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla Are Done Keeping Quiet—And So Are Their Fans
If living a life under a scrutiny of microscopic proportions is not enough, celebrities and popular personalities are constantly caught in the crossfires of the internet, making them an easy target for a revolting collective of haters, bashers, and outright trolls who exist mostly to malign and mess with them on any given opportunity. In fact, this culture of animosity has become so prevalent that it has become part and parcel of a certain level of fame and fortune—hazards of the job or collateral damage, if you will. No one understands this more than stars like Kim Chiu and Kathryn Bernardo, who both have recently been the focus of nasty naysayers nitpicking at every possible inanity just to take them down for doing something they themselves are doing: exercising their right to free speech.
A wise man once said: “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” The age-old idiom may sound straightforward and simple enough to comprehend, however, it is still is unbelievably difficult for some to realize, especially when navigating the viciously aggressive and highly flammable landscape of social media. With tempestuous temperaments and weaponized words operating as currency, every waking moment is a tightrope of propriety and passion. This doesn’t mean that a balance is often achieved, especially judging by the sheer volume of unfiltered opinions, unapologetic conversations, and unbridled conflicts that fire up our already frenzied timelines. Despite it being an intended extension of a democratic safe space for intelligent and informed exchange protected by the liberty of free speech and expression, it has quickly devolved into a less than cinematic fight club where no soul is spared from the primal and gritty annihilation.
“Lahat kayo, sinasabi ‘yan about my legs, na hindi diretso ‘yung legs ko, sakang ako,” Kathryn Bernardo begins in her YouTube video reacting to mean comments online, one that has at some point forced her to close off her comments on Instagram due to the amount of uncalled for name calling and hate she would receive, mostly pointing out the orthopedic condition of bowleggedness, or in local parlance, sakang. “Grabe ‘yung negative energy, ang daming time talaga ng bashers, but ngayon, hindi na talaga ako nabo-bother. Alam niyo, over the years, natutunan kong tanggapin legs ko. Yes, it’s not straight, parang parentheses, pero wala eh, parte siya ng pagkatao ko eh. And before, sobrang insecurity ko ‘to,” Kathryn Bernardo laments. “Ngayon, as in kahit anong tayo ko, na-realize ko lahat tayo merong imperfections. Siguro nagkataon sa akin binigay ni God ‘yung legs ko, and anong gagawin ko? Eh ‘di nagwo-workout ako para ma-exercise siya, and tatanggapin ko siya, kasi hello, hindi naman ako makukulong sa pagka-sakang ko.”
Presumably an indirect but snappy retort to the cheap shot of a “counter argument” made by an assembled group on Twitter following the wildly successful report and block campaign of her fans, this perfectly timed clap back was the final full-forced punch that left her haters in a silenced daze. “Come on, you kiss my f***ing legs, because I love it now,” she declares, with a hearty fit of laughter. “Sa mga bashers natin, mga nagdi-dislike, sa lahat ng mga haters, I’m sorry if napipikon kayo sa ibang mga artista or wala, kung naba-bother kayo sa existence namin. I’m sorry,” Kathryn Bernardo says, dripping in a copious amount of sarcasm. “So, gawin na lang natin, i-mute niyo kami sa buhay niyo. We can’t please everybody.”
Oh, was that the best they could do? Clearly, it wasn’t enough to knock out the queen of being unbothered and unaffected, emerging victorious from yet another failed attempt to take her down.
Now more than ever, people are reclaiming the faux sense of power that these vitriolic online accounts are fortressing themselves with. Having had enough of these acerbic attacks, there has been a swelling surge of empowered personalities who are done taking things without a fight. Modesty aside, they are now stepping up with decided recourse, giving these trolls a taste of their own bitter medicine.
Recently resurfacing from a self-imposed moment to exhale from the asphyxiating amount of attack she has been at the receiving end since her much-talked about emotional statement in the online protest, Laban, Kapamilya, Kim Chiu has taken the reins from her critics, releasing the full version of Bawal Lumabas (The Classroom Song), an anthemic bop that is set to be the soundtrack of our summer in lockdown.
Having been the subject of unfair and harsh judgments, Kim Chiu obviously recoiled from the public, deciding to take a few days off social media to recover and reflect. “I was really down the past few days, as in pinakamababa pa sa basement ng parking lot. But of course, siyempre, ‘pag may problema, hindi mo dapat tinatambayan. So, dun tayo sa option na move forward,” she details in her almost 30-minute vlog. “Ang mga problem sa buhay, ‘yan lang ang mga example na magpapatag sa character natin bilang tao, kasi siyempre dito sa mundo, ang daming temptations, ang daming taong makakasakit sa’yo, pero alam mo naman ang mga taong makakasakit sa’yo, will teach you how to grow, how to be yourself. ‘Yun lang ang magtuturo sa atin ng mga bagay na hindi natuturo ng iba sa atin. Wala naman tayong makakakapitan kundi sarili lang natin.”
This timely reminder on the oft-forgotten lesson of self-love, brought about by an open letter published by Adrian Crisanto on Facebook, which was expounded in a conversation with him and DJ Squammy, the man responsible for the viral remix of Bawal Lumabas, was what pulled Kim Chiu out of the state of stupor she understandably found herself spiralling in. “Yes, malungkot talaga ako. Kahit naman sino ilagay iyo ‘yung sarili niyo sa posisiyon ko nung time na ‘yun, mabigat talaga siya. Hindi ko in-expect na kaya magsalita ng tao ng ganon. Hurtful words, grabe,” she muses. “Tapos ‘yung mga tao, pinagtawanan ‘yung sinabi ko, at ako din, honestly, natawa na lang din ako. Sabi ko, hindi ko naintindihan sinabi ko, kaya pala hindi ako binoboto ng mga kaklase ko nung pag ako pinagde-debate nila. But oh well, past is past, it’s done.”
With a refreshing attitude laced with self-awareness and self-deprecating humor, Kim Chiu thanked her detractors, adding in jest, “Dahil sa inyo, naging trending ‘yung pangalan ko. Salamat sa atensyon na binigay niyo sa akin.”
This attention resulted in the aforementioned splicing of her maligned metaphor into infectious beats, which the public took a particular liking to overnight. While everyone took the joke and ran with it on social media, the actress was initially put off by it. “Nung una, pinanood ko siya, nalungkot ako. Sabi ko, bakit nila pinaglaruan ‘yung sinabi ko? Tapos nung nakita ko ‘yung mga video sa TikTok, na pati ‘yung mga pamangkin ko, sumasayaw na dun sa beat na ginawa mo, at least sumaya pala ‘yung tao sa ginawa mo, sa sinabi ko, at sa beat na ginawa mo,” she reveals, addressing DJ Squammy. “Kahit malungkot ‘yung paligid, malungkot ‘yung mga nangyayari sa bansa natin, at least nagawa ko ‘yung part ko na mag-entertain ng tao, nagawa mo ‘yung part mo na gumawa ng beat…I think we did a good job.”
Turning the tables on her haters, Kim Chiu along with Adrian Crisanto and DJ Squammy have refined her kilometric-long statement and distilled it into a song that not only illustrates her experience, but also elucidates a truth that is much more encompassing than the law, which is one that speaks of love. “Andami na nating problema, but at the end of the day, marami talagang gustong tumulong sa atin, mag-reach out, to give help. It means so much, ngayon mo na-appreciate na maraming taong gustong tumulong sa’yo,” she says.
Roaring with admiration and respect, there seems to have been a newfound level of respect for Kim Chiu from the general public. More than the catchy song and the acute consciousness, it is the ability to turn something positive and enriching from a profoundly dark place that makes this comeback memorable. Wading her way through the noise of hate, she was able to silence the cynics, schooling everyone on the new rules to adhere to in the classroom of life.
This doesn’t mean that there won’t be any anger flung and attacks hurled their way anymore. In fact, with the ounce of resistance they boldly displayed, it will only agitate their bashers and trolls even more, who are probably recalibrating their plans, waiting on any opportunity to pounce with sharp slices of salacious fiction to their character. But make no mistake about it, Kathryn Bernardo and Kim Chiu aren’t not one be deterred or even remotely underestimated anymore. You don’t mess with them, because they will be waiting with a clapback so loud and strong, you might as well back out now.
If it wasn’t any clearer, they meant to say: Try harder, haters.
