Rhian Ramos. Images: Screengrab from Instagram/@whianwamos
Rhian Ramos drew laughs from her followers after appearing to start the “shimenet” trend on social media that referenced a terse moment when Vice President Sara Duterte tried to defend her office’s requested budget for 2025 at the House of Representatives.
The latest buzzword stemmed from the remarks made by Duterte when she was arguing with solons who were questioning her 2022 spending of the P125 million confidential funds within 11 days. She said: “She may not like my answer. She may not like how I answer. She may not like the content of my answer, but I am answering.”
Duterte’s delivery stuck with internet users who were following the hearing, and has since spawned many funny edits as it sounded like “shiminet” or “shimenet,” owing to her Visayan accent. Her voice and words eventually found its way to Black Eyed Peas’ song, “Boom Boom Pow.”
In a video that she posted on Instagram, Ramos lip-synched and posed on camera to her own version of the “shimenet” trend, as a remix of the song played in the background. She captioned her post, “She may like to stay home, but sometimes, #ShimenetLike….”
Fellow celebrities Carla Abellana, Samantha Bernardo, and Katarina Rodriguez were amused by Ramos’ video, as seen in the comments.
Screenshots of Instagram/@whianwamos
While Ramos’ followers found her post to be funny, some @_heyitsrox and @tatamk2010 called the actress out for allegedly making fun of Duterte. One even warned that she might suddenly disappear, while another alluded to a past scandal involving the actress.
Screenshot of Instagram/@whianwamos
Aside from Ramos, Vice Ganda and Bela Padilla previously poked fun at the term “shimenet” on the August 30 episode of the noontime show “It’s Showtime.”
shimenet shimenet HAHAHAHA I love Vice and Bela 😭#ViceGanda pic.twitter.com/wyVW5SQQ3b
— she (@luckiestVice) August 30, 2024
Meanwhile, Saab Magalona also made a reference to “shimenet” as she was having a facial.
Her video caption read: “Pag di ka makasunod sa mga ganap sa government hearings.”
Netizens had their own versions of the term “shimenet,” with some even making remixes to famous hits on social media.