Maureen Wroblewitz (left) and Shay Mitchell
Filipino-German beauty queen Maureen Wroblewitz has reacted to Canadian actress Shay Mitchell’s denial of her Filipino roots in a recent TV show, saying she was “confused” as to why the latter did that. She then expressed her hope that Filipinos abroad heal from their trauma of discrimination.
Wroblewitz shared her reaction through a video on TikTok after watching Mitchell’s viral statement that claimed her “dad’s Irish and her mom’s Spanish,” when in fact her mother is a Filipina.
“This video is from 3 weeks ago, lol, but I was just so confused as to why she said that,” began the beauty queen in her caption.
Wroblewitz then noted that she herself must be lucky as she didn’t experience being bullied about her Filipino roots and was given the chance to educate others about the Philippines.
“Maybe I’m privileged to have never been picked on for being Filipino. I grew up in Saudi Arabia with people from all over the globe, and when I was in Germany, I was the only Asian in my class. Most people in my school had never heard of the Philippines, but I would be so proud to educate them,” she said.
@mwrob this video is from 3 weeks ago lol but I was just so confused as to why she said that 😅 maybe I’m privileged to have never been picked on for being filipino.. I grew up in saudi with people from all over the globe and when I was in Germany, I was the only Asian in my class. Most people in my school had never heard of the Philippines but I would be so proud to educate them. Maybe I was lucky that my classmates were actually pretty curious and open to learning. I grew up loving and embracing my Filipino culture thanks to my Mom. My sisters and I up to this day get so excited to hear of someone else’s Filipino background because of our Pinoy pride 🤍 I hope more Filipinos abroad get to heal from their trauma, learn to embrace our beautiful culture and hopefully teach their children as well #proud #filipino ♬ original sound – Maureen Wrob
The Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 winner said that she proudly raised the Philippine flag whenever she could and shared her hopes that other Filipinos abroad would get the chance to embrace their nationality.
“Maybe I was lucky that my classmates were actually pretty curious and open to learning. I grew up loving and embracing my Filipino culture thanks to my mom. My sisters and I, up to this day, get so excited to hear of someone else’s Filipino background because of our Pinoy pride,” expressed Wroblewitz.
“I hope more Filipinos abroad get to heal from their trauma, learn to embrace our beautiful culture, and hopefully teach their children as well,” added the beauty queen.
Mitchell recently sparked outrage from the Filipino community after she claimed in a variety show that her “dad’s Irish and her mom’s Spanish.”
In an interview with Philstar in 2013, Mitchell shared that her mother, Precious, hails from the province of Pampanga.
“I’m half Filipino. It’s a very big part of who I am,” she told the news outlet at the time.