MANILA, Philippines — A Chinese drama is facing widespread criticism on social media after one of its episodes showed racial slurs against Filipinos.
Twitter user @kthseokkity shared a screenshot of the first episode of “Make My Heart Smile” which showed one of the characters insulting a woman, saying she “looked like a Filipino maid.”
“Saddening that they’ve stereotyped Filipinos as maids. While it’s a reality, that line from a drama just made it sound even more degrading,” read the tweet.
as a filo, this is very offensive and disrespectful pic.twitter.com/Gi7e0aOX2C
— Oyebola #Titans (@MzDual) February 9, 2021
“Ofw’s [overseas Filipino workers] are seen highly & should be given respect since they make a lot of sacrifices & put in hard work rich people can’t even imagine,” it added.
The tweet, which flagged the racial slur, received thousands of replies and likes.
Social media user with Twitter handle @Fruitwicetan replied to the tweet, saying: “Maid man kami sa inyong paningin, West Philippine Sea ay amin Pa rin.” (We may be maids but the West Philippine Sea is still ours.)
https://twitter.com/Fruitwicetan/status/1359100398443745282?s=20
Another Twitter user @tatacheekies was also dismayed over the racial slur, saying house help are treasured just like a member of the family in the Philippines.
“This is both making me sad and mad.. many people in the Philippines treasure their maids/nannies as their own mom/family member.. respect please,” read the tweet.
this is both making me sad and mad.. many people in the Philippines treasure their maids/nannies as their own mom/family member.. respect please
— mayie🐯 (@tatacheekies) February 9, 2021
The Chinese drama, consisting of 24 episodes, started airing in February this year.
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