Donnalyn Bartolome’s “kanto” birthday party. Image: Facebook/Donnalyn
Donnalyn Bartolome is being criticized for holding a “kanto-themed” birthday party, though the vlogger said the theme is “not just a concept” but her life years ago.
Bartolome’s birthday party was a roadside celebration that featured street food, monobloc chairs, karaoke and a cake made out of burnt rice. The guests, who all wore simple clothes, included fellow vloggers and celebrities Mikee Quintos, Paul Salas, Zeinab Harake, Jelai Andres, Mika Salamanca and Ella Cruz, as seen on her Facebook page last Sunday, Aug. 14.
“Pinakasimple pero pinakamasayang birthday ko (My simplest but happiest birthday). My Kanto Birthday Party is not just a concept, this was my life when I left home abroad where my life was comfortable,” she explained.
For Bartolome, her life upon arriving in the Philippines was an “adventure” despite being difficult, so she wanted to “relive” those times in her life.
Prior to this, Bartolome had also released a vlog on her “kanto birthday party” via her YouTube channel last Aug. 11. This drew mixed reactions from netizens, with some calling out Bartolome’s “irresponsible” birthday theme.
“When you romanticize poverty, you allow corrupt officials to remove their accountability, to allow bad traffic, you allow things that are result of a societal problem caused by government neglect, not to add the capitalist system that exploits us all. The reminisce thing? It’s a selfish excuse for an irresponsible statement to the public,” one @jtartsea said.
“When poor people celebrate, they are branded ‘cheap’ and ‘jejemon’ for not having enough food on their tables[…] Meanwhile, Donnalyn is deemed ‘humble’ and ‘grounded’ for momentarily pretending to be poor,” another netizen, Joum Malonosan, stated.
“It’s actually crazy how out of touch people can be when they’re rich… This isn’t a theme for most people but their reality. She’s the same girl who did that rich family poor family swap too like she seriously acts like poverty is a costume she can put on for fun,” one @gabbivillarama lamented.
Bartolome was also recently called out for “enabling pedophilic culture” due to her sexy baby-themed photo shoot last month. The vlogger has since apologized for the said shoot and admitted it was an “honest mistake” on her part. /ra
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