Ben Madilynn
Kinukuyog ngayon ng fans ng K-pop supergroup na BTS at ng Filipino actress na si Nadine Lustre ang internet personality na si Emman Atienza.
Ito’y matapos idawit ni Emman ang pangalan ng BTS at ni Nadine sa kanyang kontrobersiyal na pahayag tungkol sa viral niyang “Guess the Bill” challenge.
Noong Lunes, September 22, 2024, nag-viral sa social media ang TikTok video ni Emman kunsaan hinulaan nilang magkakaibigan kung magkano ang total bill ng kanilang kinain sa isang high-end Japanese restaurant.
Sa huli, lumabas na tumataginting na PHP133,423 ang naging bill nila.
Binatikos ito ng ilang netizens na nakapanood dahil walang habas na pagpapakita umano ito ng karangyaan sa buhay gayong maraming Pilipino ang umaaray sa kahirapan.
EMMAN ADDRESSES THE VIRAL Guess the Bill video
Dahil sa kaliwa’t kanang batikos online, minarapat ni Emman na magsalita para depensahan ang sarili laban sa mga tumutiligsa sa kanya.
Noong Martes, September 24, nag-upload ng panibagong video sa TikTok ang anak ni Kim Atienza para sabihing katuwaan lang nilang magkakaibigan ang challenge kaya’t hindi niya akalaing seseryosohin ito ng publiko.
Aniya: “The video was a joke. I thought it was obvious because we were laughing and the bill was at an outrageously high number. But apparently, it’s believable that I can pay that much for a dinner.
“So I want to clarify again. It was a joke. We didn’t pay that.
“It was my friend’s birthday and her agency treated us to a dinner.”
Idiin pa ni Emman, kung saka-sakali mang totoo ito ay wala siyang kailangang ipaliwanag dahil karapatan niyang gamitin ang sariling pera sa kahit anong paraan na nais niya.
Privileged man siyang maituturing sa buhay, hindi raw niya obligasyon ang ipamahagi ang kanyang kayamanan, gaya ng ipinupunto ng iba.
Saad niya: “Even if I had paid that much, even if we did have that much money, it is our choice and our freedom to do what we want with money that we earned.
“‘Check your privilege.’ First of all, I’ve been so honest about the privileges I’ve been given and the privilege that I have in my life.
“For example on my podcast with Kush, I mentioned that I’m not one to deny the privilege I’ve been given.
“And on top of that, I’m also very open about the fact that I’m a nepo baby. I’m not ignorant nor do I deny the privilege I’ve been given and I never have been.
“Hypothetically if you won the lottery and you won, let’s say a million pesos. Are you gonna immediately be giving all of your million pesos to everyone around you?
“No, you’re gonna pay your bills. You’re gonna maybe get a nice dinner. You’re gonna get some nice clothes and then maybe the rest, you could possibly donate to charity.
“You are not gonna be giving each and every single bit of that million to other people. Be so honest right now.”
ADDRESING privilege and public scrutiny
Dahil sa usaping pribilehiyo, nabanggit ni Emman ang ilang sikat na personalidad — gaya ng BTS, nina Nadine Lustre, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, at Olivia Rodrigo — na maituturing na mayaman ngunit hindi naman daw binabatikos kahit mas malaki ang ginagastos ng mga ito kumpara sa kanya.
Pahayag ni Emman: “I find it so ironic that they were talking about how I need to check my privilege.
“Nadine Lustre at a Bulgari event, praising her saying ‘radiant as always mother.’
“If you’re gonna hate on me for being rich, you need to do the same for everyone because guess what? Your favorite celebrities not just in the Philippines, but worldwide, if you have a BTS profile picture, I don’t want to hear you talking.
“If you have Taylor’s version in your name, I don’t want to hear you talking because your favorite celebrities make more, have more, and spend more than I ever have.
“I doubt any of them are redistributing their wealth; whether it be Nadine Lustre, BTS, f*ck*ng Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo.
“I doubt any of them are redistributing their wealth, and they have a thousand times more wealth than I do.”
BTS FANS REACT
Dahil sa pagbanggit ni Emman sa BTS at kay Nadine, ilan sa kanilang tagahanga ang rumesbak dahil sa pagiging “insensitive” daw ng dalaga na ihalintulad sa kanya ang mga kilalang personalidad.
Giit ng ilang ARMYs (tawag sa fandom ng BTS), hindi katulad ni Emman na lumaki sa karangyaan dahil sa pamilya nito, ang BTS member daw ay pinaghirapan ang yaman na mayroon sila ngayon.
Tweet ng isang ARMY (published as is), “i really do’t understand how that emman atienza girl even decided to bring bts up. how f*ck*ng stupid. you were born wealthy while bts had to work part-time jobs to get by, lived in a small dorm and squeezed themselves together, etc. how fucking insensitive.”
Sabi pa ng isa, “lol, she should’ve just stopped recording the video the moment she acknowledged her privilege. gurlie didn’t need to mention BTS in her pointless statement. and fyi, BTS actively shares their wealth by donating to various charities, so f*ck off, emman atienza.”
Dagdag pa ng isa, “emman atienza dragging other people to her mess is so wild. Imagine dragging BTS without knowing their story and how they kept donating… what a nepo baby soo ewww.”
NADINE LUSTRE FANS REACTION
Katulad ng ARMYs, ipinagtanggol din si Nadine ng kanyang fans laban kay Emman.
Tweet ng isang tagahanga ni Nadine (published as is), “girl, libre ang google. Nadine Lustre is literally the Angel Locsin of her generation when it comes to helping people in need and advocating immensely for the environment. most importantly, she’s NOT an out-of-touch nepo baby like you, Emman Atienza. just take the L and go.”
Diin pa ng isa, “emman atienza calling out nadine lustre unprovoked is even crazier when you remember nadine was/is a breadwinner.”
Pagbabalik-tanaw pa ng isa, “President Nadine Lustre is trending because Emman Atienza mentioned her about wealth distribution and said something about Bulgari event. Girl, you can easily Google how Nadine is distributing her “wealth” through organizations The biggest was during and after Typhoon Odette.”
