Filipino social media is kinda weird these days. On the one side, you have common folks voicing out their hardships about work and life. Then on the other, you have the privileged and money-having side enjoying life and well…using their money.
The concept of money is also a bit too touchy nowadays as well. It’s one thing to have enough money to live paycheck to paycheck, another to have a little more extra to be comfortable, and another to just have loads of it. Filipino social media has always made it a point to call someone out on the online space especially if they are being too insensitive.
Which, to be fair, is the right thing to do. Some people do just deserve to be called out on social media for their distasteful social media behavior. This thing we’re about to talk about is one of those times, and quite timely as well.
In a now-deleted TikTok video by TikTok personality Emman Atienza, she and her friends were seen dining in a high-end Japanese restaurant. The beginning of the video was her asking her friends how much their total bill would be, and the one that guessed closest to the price will be paying the bill.
The guesses ranged from P100K to P150K, which would definitely sound outrageous for any normal, non-middle class citizen.
In the end, a friend in the video ended up paying the bill because her guess was closest to the actual price, which was around P123K.
People on the Internet were obviously enraged with this video and had lots to say about it. They called out Emman Atienza and her friends for flagrant insensitivity and for laughing about the whopping amount they spent on a dinner.
Soon, the “eat the rich” sentiment started flooding Philippine social media.
Others pointed out that if they had that amount of money, they could’ve spent it on their studies, work, personal endeavors, etc.
if this doesn't radicalize you idk what will pic.twitter.com/JAcSpUcgYW
— militant (@alasiye7e) September 23, 2024
emman atienza and her group of friends with the 120K plus dinner: pic.twitter.com/gtfpG5ZH6z
— migs🧸 (they/them) (@migseu_) September 24, 2024
as much as emman atienza tries to be relatable bro she just…is still a burgis in a sense that the tuition fee for one term in a private university in the ph is just their private hibachi dinner lmao😭 like im reallyyy not sorry i find her pretentious https://t.co/wUoHOZOreK
— isa (@gyurecords) September 23, 2024
emmanatienza you will never be the “relatable” tiktoker you frame yourself to be! https://t.co/RoI0Bc0ik5
— ✮ (@bakedjuns) September 24, 2024
I’m telling you there’s money in the Philippines, it’s just hoarded by stupid fucks like this https://t.co/jHFZPJ4oUJ
— _ (@pdzndao) September 23, 2024
finally emman atienza getting cooked https://t.co/gi2m00QEVE
— j. (@jaeholicss) September 24, 2024
emman atienza posting a 100k dinner so casually and labeling it as “satire” lmfaooo bitch how
— Yumi (@yumiventi) September 24, 2024
emman atienza trying to be relatable on tiktok while living like this 😭 sorry but like even if i had the money why would u spend this much on ONE meal???? https://t.co/q1OmvXo5cG
— 👻 (@yoahsobi) September 24, 2024
Fuck Emman Atienza, I wished she gave Philippine protests the same/equal energy she gave to Pro-Palestinian protests. I'm not saying she should drop her Pro-Palestinian ideals, i'm saying she should practice her ideals to her home country as well.
— peggy sue (@UGetPegged) September 24, 2024
i love emman atienza but this made my jaw droppp https://t.co/q69RV1D9Ts
— gabbyyyy (´◡`) saw txt last 10/8/22 (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ (@sydyie) September 24, 2024
I dunno what to feel abt that new vid of emman atienza w her friends and their 130k dinner bill hahaha uhm their money so shoo ig?? but in this economy? omg those kind of content leaves a bad taste 🥲🥲
— ethel 🩵 fan account (@kayetsune) September 23, 2024
GEN QUES cos i know that emman atienza stands up for palestine: does she also put in the effort to learn about the struggles of the filipino masses? https://t.co/UjIJ1bgdKj
— mary pau (@pauthe1st) September 23, 2024
guess the bill https://t.co/GWaegOmT54 pic.twitter.com/VGBePFmnWC
— vico blanco (@vicotinamide) September 24, 2024
https://t.co/Sk4q9c3vz4 pic.twitter.com/IVHlGF9G5s
— aiah fans kwangya (@chasingmaloi) September 24, 2024
meanwhile neda out here insisting filipinos can live on 64 pesos a meal….. the disparity is actually sickening https://t.co/4o6lSSHpJ9
— denise⁷ 🍉 (@bakbakjimin) September 24, 2024
P2200 for 9 coke zeroes? all i'm learning is that rich folks like to flex getting scammed https://t.co/RhtFSrEtvH
— patis 𐃡 (@maengo69) September 24, 2024
the ncr minimum wage earner who works six days a week will have to toil for eight months straight to obtain what they spent in one meal.
THE NCR MINIMUM WAGE EARNER WHO WORKS SIX DAYS A WEEK WILL HAVE TO TOIL FOR EIGHT MONTHS STRAIGHT TO OBTAIN WHAT THEY SPENT IN ONE MEAL https://t.co/r2ae9JJEHM
— ana 🔻 #TaumbayanSaSenado! (@ellianarei) September 24, 2024
what’s funnier is emman is supposed to be this socially aware ethical relatable rich whatever girlie on tiktok but ig the rich will alwayss enjoy the privileges that comes w their riches lmao https://t.co/p9UIbeS70C
— lucy pearl 🔪 (@tanginaco) September 23, 2024
You just know their families are directly responsible for Filipino suffering. https://t.co/k4w71VAHLV
— living dead (@cthonic_) September 23, 2024
A day later, Emman Atienza addressed the video, the comments she received, and an article directly telling her to “check your privilege” by a media outlet in a TikTok video.
She first opened the TikTok by saying that she found it “stupid” that she had to address the deleted video, but felt that she reached the point where she had to. She then went on to explain that the video was a joke because she and her friends were laughing about it and that included an “outrageously high number” for a bill, and said that “apparently it was believable that she could pay that much for a dinner.”
The dinner in the video was paid for by her friend’s agency where they all got treated to. Emman went on to say that if she did have that amount of money, it is her choice to do what she wants with the money she earned.
Addressing the article and post made by a media outlet, Emman expressed that she has been honest about the privileges she has, how open she was about being a “nepo baby”, and that she has never been ignorant about all the things she’s been given.
She points out one sentence in the post (which has now been taken down) that talks about how only 1 percent of people have that amount of money in their pockets and how these people should be redistributing their wealth, and throws a question back to her critics saying, “Hypothetically if you won P1 million pesos, are you gonna immediately be giving all of you P1 million pesos to everyone around you?”
She answers that question saying that people would be paying their bills, get a nice dinner or nice clothes, and then give the rest to charity.
Emman goes on to say that the irony of people telling her to check her privilege are the same ones that praise other celebrities for attending high luxury brand events. She says, “If you’re gonna hate on me for being rich, you need to do the same for everyone else,” and “If you actually had an issue with the wealth disparity, if you actually had an issue with impoverished people, there are ways to help that are not attacking a teenage girl.”
@emmanatienza #stitch with @emmanuelle atienza ♬ Girls – The Dare
People still had some comments after Emman Atienza made her statement, but it’s good to note that she did make some fair points in what she said.
One, it’s definitely wrong to pick one girl out and throw them on the chopping block for having money.
We get that what she did left a bad taste in Filipinos’ minds, but honestly though. Aren’t we just redirecting our anger to the wrong person and the wrong agency. If we are mad about the obvious class divide and the ill distribution of wealth, shouldn’t we be placing the blame on the government?
Two, at this point, aren’t we just looking for one person to blame for the inequalities we experience in life?
There are many factors to why we are all experiencing hardships in different parts of our life—some that we can’t even address quickly because of how systematic it all is. By rooting out just one person for “having it good”, do all of our problems disappear? What do we gain from choosing a scapegoat?
Do we immediately solve the problem of wealth disparity? Do we immediately become equal human beings? Does life immediately become all rainbows and sunshine?
Three, is the greatest evil here the activities of teenage girls with money, or is it the system that allows the rich to become richer and the poor to become poorer?
Think about it. At this point, everything on social media can be taken apart bone by bone, and still, people will find something wrong with it.
Money is a touchy subject, yes. Even we feel sensitive whenever money is involved, but should a teenaged girl be demonized for one video she made without any regard to the good she’s done off-camera?
What are your thoughts on this?
Other POP! stories you might like:
Understanding the cultural history and significance of ‘Pastil’ in the Philippines
M2M fans in shock and delight as Marit and Marion perform together after 22 years
Pop Band ‘Tears for Fears’ faces criticism for their AI-made album cover
University students call for ‘academic integrity’ following issues about Thesis Award
Con artist Anna Delvey’s debut on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ leaves audiences displeased
