Samantha Panlilio warns beauty queens vs hopping on ‘guess the bill’ trend

(from left) Samantha Panlilio, Emman Atienza, and Krishnah Gravidez | Image: Instagram/@samanthapanlilio_, @emmanatienza, @krishnahgravidez

Beauty queen and youth advocate Samantha Panlilio weighed in on the “guess the bill” trend where some beauty queens tend to hop on, saying it tends to show “insensitivity and bragging.”

In an interview with MJ Marfori of TV5, Panlilio was asked in general about the trend, especially after a video of Kim Atienza’s daughter, Emmanuelle “Emman” Atienza and reigning Miss World Philippines Krishnah Gravidez, where their group supposedly burned P133,000 for a Japanese dinner, went viral on the internet.

“There are a lot of people struggling and the economy is still recovering sadly from COVID, right? So I think let’s just be more sensitive and aware. And kung hindi mo kailangang magyabang, ‘wag na. What’s the point, diba?” she said.

Atienza and Gravidez drew flak after they posted a video dining at a high-end Japanese restaurant with their other friends as they played a game of guessing the amount of their bill, and whoever has the closest estimate would pay for it. 

Gravidez’s guess was the closest to the total, which was revealed to be around P133,423.99. The beauty queen was then seen handing over her card to apparently pay for the group’s meal.

Panlilio, in a tweet, clarified that her answer pertained to the general sense and emphasized that she and Gravidez are good friends.

“Guys hinay lang, Krishna is a very good friend of mine. I was asked a general question about how I feel about beauty queens (again, in general) flashing their dinner bills worth 100,000 pesos. I was not aware of the whole context nor that it was pertaining to a social media challenge done by a specific group of people,” Panlilio wrote.

The video made the rounds online but was flagged by internet users who criticized their seemingly heedless spending for a meal.

Atienza then addressed the criticism via TikTok video, saying she and her friends were just playing around and that it was all a joke. The 18-year-old social media influencer further said that dinner was a birthday treat of one of her friends and was paid by an agency. 

At the same time, she also lashed out at critics, saying it’s “ironic” that netizens are attacking them for “choosing how to spend their money,” while celebrities like Nadine Lustre were “praised” for attending an event for a luxury brand.

Meanwhile, Gravidez also addressed the criticism through her Instagram broadcast channel, stating that the video was just “satire” and she didn’t have any means to pay for that big amount, as she extended her apologies to fans whom she “might have disappointed.”