Filipinos not smiling after Chinese drama ‘Make My Heart Smile’ slur

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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