Former MTV VJ Belinda Panelo and her son experienced racial discrimination from an unidentified woman on a Playa Vista street.
Panelo, who is Filipino-American, said in an interview with KTLA that the unprovoked vitriol, which she was able to film on her cell phone, happened on February 12 after she parked her car to buy coffee.
The recorded footage showed Panelo and her son inside the car when an elderly California woman approached them and started throwing racial slurs to them.
The woman repeatedly asked them what was their “mix” and called Panelo and her son ugly, poor, and subhuman.
Parts of Panelo’s cell phone footage was uploaded on ABC.
“What are you? He doesn’t even look human. Okay, get off our street. You do not belong in Playa Vista,” the woman can be heard saying in the video.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” Panelo responded.
“No, I am not. We don’t want you here. This is our street. Leave us alone. We pay $10,000 a month to keep you out,” the woman said.
She further said in the interview that she tried to remain calm while dealing with the woman and also talked to her son after the incident to make him understand what happened.
“How do I deal with this in front of my child? Because inside, you know, you want to react a certain way, but you are going to have to keep it together,” she said.
“You are trying to model the behavior that you want your child to [have]. You would hope that in a situation your child would react in a respectful way—maintaining their dignity but while still standing up for themselves,” Panelo added.
In another interview with Balitang America, she said that she and her son are now doing fine.
She also told the Filipino community abroad to not get affected by racist remarks and just focus on doing something in their communities.
Panelo, who is now based in Los Angeles, became a television personality in the Philippines in the lates 90s after becoming an MTV VJ and appearing on several commercials.
