Benny Blanco spat out Jollibee food in a viral post, angering many in the Filipino community: ‘Blatant disgust and disrespect’

For many Filipinos, Jollibee It is more than just a fast food restaurant – it is a celebration of their identity and culture. Among Filipino immigrants He spoke at length About how the popular series is closely linked to childhood memories and Provides comfort For those abroad. That’s why music producer Benny Blanco’s now-viral reaction to trying food from the chain – and spitting it out – has drawn strong reactions from the community.

On February 29, Blanco (@itsbennyblanco) took to TikTok to share his first experience with Jollibee. Blanco begins the video by saying that he grew up eating Filipino food because his stepmother is from the Philippines. Then he tries adobo rice and fried chicken — known as Chicken Joy — before reaching for the spaghetti. Filipino style spaghetti It’s a sweet twist on traditional Italian spaghetti and is particularly topped with sausage and grated cheese.

“Well, this smells like fucking vomit.” What the f***? “Let me get a fork,” he said before taking a bite of spaghetti and spitting it out immediately. “Wait. I feel like this ruined my night.”

A representative for Blanco did not immediately respond to Yahoo News’ request for comment.

Blanco’s video, which has received more than 6.7 million views and 29,000 comments, sparked violent reactions from TikTok users, many of whom are of Filipino origin. These creators criticize Blanco’s “disrespect” for Jollibee, and point out that having a Filipina stepmother does not make his reaction permissible. Some creators even brought his girlfriend Selena Gomez into the conversation. “Okay I don’t get it Selena,” one user wrote in the comments.

The 35-year-old music producer Posted another video He tried again to eat Filipino food, but this time with a more positive response, although many noted that the damage had already been done.

Jollibee was founded in 1975 in Manila, Philippines. The chain currently has more than 6,800 restaurants in 33 countries from the United States to the United Kingdom. Its eponymous mascot, a bee wearing a red suit and chef’s hat, is believed to encapsulate core Filipino values ​​and represent “Filipino optimism“.

It “blatantly and intentionally” shows disrespect

Noreen Demakoha (@r33nberger), a Filipino-American TikTok creator, addressed Blanco’s reaction in her video, noting that Jollibee is “deeply rooted in Filipino culture.”

“Jollibee’s logo is”Peda ang saya.’ This basically means that “Joy comes first when you are in Jollibee”. “It’s one of the only places where we can forget the struggles,” she says. “Our version of spaghetti is deeply rooted [in] The fact that poverty is high in the Philippines.

Modern Philippine Statistics Authority The report revealed that in the first half of 2023, 22.4% or 25.24 million people were living in poverty in the Philippines, a country with Estimated population From 118 million. According to the report, an average family of five needs at least 13,797 Philippine pesos, or $246, per month to meet minimum nutritional needs.

“A lot of Filipino families are just getting by [with] Whatever they have available. “This spaghetti symbolizes a very distinct Filipino trait that we will emerge from the struggle,” Dimakoha added.

In a later video, Demakoha also points out “exactly where [Blanco] An error has occurred.”

“Benny Blanco made a conscious effort to violate the cultural significance that Jollibee has for us Filipinos — especially overseas Filipinos who consider Jollibee the closest thing they have to home,” Demakoha, who lives in Philadelphia, told Yahoo News. “I wasn’t even going to make a video about it because he’s just another foreigner pissing off Filipino society, but the fact that he was actively pressing the record button while spitting out the food and making sure it was in the frame as well was overemphasizing his ‘disgust’ after tasting Our food did it for me. He had the opportunity to think about whether the video would offend Filipinos or not, and decided to release it.”

‘That’s your opinion.’ “This is your right”

John dela Cruz, known as Nurse John (@Nurse John) on TikTok, is a Canadian-Filipino registered nurse and creator in Montreal. Dela Cruz, who has 6 million followers on TikTok, also weighed in on the discourse surrounding Blanco’s review and asked people “not to hate him” in a video that has since been deleted in the US (The video It is still available in Canada.)

“To Benny Blanco. …That’s your opinion. That’s your right. But I think what people see is the blatant disgust and disrespect that you’ve shown.” [toward] “Food we love,” Dela Cruz says. “[Jollibee] It is what we, as immigrants, are looking for [don’t] Living in the Philippines anymore, to feel [closer to] house. Does it feel completely [like] house? No, but does it give a sense of home? Yes.”

Dela Cruz has since watched Blanco’s follow-up video, and believes the music producer’s reaction to trying Filipino food was “more respectful” the second time around.

I think he learned and reflected [on] What other people were saying in the first video he made, I think he did it [has] “The right to redeem himself,” Dela Cruz told Yahoo News. “I think we can all make mistakes. … Be more considerate and sensitive to others if that’s the case [is] Something that carries a deep meaning [to them] Always should [be a] “Practice.”