Kapuso actress Solenn Heussaff can’t help but feel frustrated with her fellow Filipinos who bash her for being biracial.
Heussaff has been criticized online for having mixed race several times, one of which was when Twitter user Pepe Alas accused her of not being a true Filipino.
Heussaff previously said in an interview that being biracial does not make one less of a Filipino, but Alas countered and said that being a Filipino is not simply about race, but a “concept and identity”.
Related Story: Solenn Heussaff to netizen: I’m Filipino by blood and by heart
In an interview with PEP.ph, Heussaff said that this kind of online comment annoys her as no one is supposed to question her nationality.
“Actually, I’ve encountered a few [instances], parang it annoys me nga, kasi who are you to tell me na hindi ako Pinoy? Kasi Pinoy ako, may passport ako.
“Even if I didn’t have a passport, I grew up here, I was raised here, my mom’s a Filipina, I have the same values as the Filipino people,” PEP.ph quoted Heussaff as saying.
Heussaff has a Filipino mother and French national father of British descent. The 33-year-old actress grew up in the Philippines but moved to France to study for a few years.
The Kapuso actress went on to say that Filipinos have this behavior of praising half-Filipino personalities who did not grow up in the Philippines but are making a name for themselves internationally.
However, she said that half-Filipino personalities who grew up locally but are making it big in other countries are getting bashed.
“The thing is, nakakatawa sa mga Pinoy minsan, sometimes, so us, we’re half, we grew up here and everything, they’ll say, ‘Ay, hindi kayo Pinoy, bumalik kayo sa inyong bansa.’
“But then you have people, like… I’m not hating, I love Jessica Sanchez… but grew up [abroad], but has never been to the Philippines before American Idol. Lahat ng Pinoys, ‘Oh my God, proud Pinoy!’
“Once there is konting Pinoy blood sa international level, they will claim it. But when there is someone local that is discovered internationally, they bash.
“So, parang anong gusto niyo? OK, you have your own mind, your own opinion, but what do you want talaga? So, maraming nakaka-frustrate,” she vented out.
However, despite the discrimination she has been getting from some Filipinos, she said that she is not generalizing everyone.
“There are many more good ones out there than the bad ones,” she said.
