(From left) Bretman Rock, Vanessa Hudgens. Images: Instagram/@bretmanrock, Instagram/@vanessahudgens
Social media personality Bretman Rock sent netizens abuzz when he appeared to throw shade at Filipino-American actress Vanessa Hudgens after he commented about her numerous failed attempts to correctly pronounce “Palawan,” a place she recently visited during a tourism campaign for the Philippine government.
The Fil-Am influencer who is based in Honolulu, Hawaii recently vacationed at a resort in Palawan, a province west of the Philippines. He made a series of posts on Instagram about his vacation, saying “it’s always gonna be more fun in the Philippines.”
He accompanied his post with pictures and videos of his activities on the beach, including trying out the tamilok, an exotic local delicacy of shipworms culled from mangroves.
“Only if that little kid who grew up in Sanchez Mira Cagayan knew he would have everything he ever dreamt of one day. It’s so hard not to feel proud of that little brown boy when I’m home,” he captioned one of his posts.
Given his pride in his heritage, several followers pointed out that Rock should have been the global tourism ambassador for the Philippines, a title bestowed on Hudgens when she was here in March upon the invitation of the Marcos government to promote local tourism.
Images from Bretman Rock’s Instagram
One @paulinaalano commented, “Vanessa Hudgens is shaking,” to which Rock appeared to have taken a swipe at the singer-actress, replying, “B**ch can’t even say Palawan.”
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@bretmanrock
Rock appeared to be referring to Hudgen’s Instagram video last March 31 wherein the “High School Musical” star claimed that she just learned the correct pronunciation of “Palawan,” after being corrected several times by a companion.
“So it’s pa-LA-wan. Not PA-la-wan [laughing emoji] Regardless- it’s magical,” she wrote.
Hudgens was previously in the Philippines earlier this year to film a documentary series set in Manila and Palawan. The series is said to focus on the singer-actress getting in touch with her Filipino heritage. EDV