Karla Henry tells ‘boys’ Brandon Espiritu, Jether Palomo: ‘Grow up’

Karla Henry, the first Miss Earth winner from the Philippines, referred to pageant titleholders Brandon Espiritu and Jether Palomo as “boys” as she shared her take on the issue of “halfies” (part-foreigners) supposedly making the Philippines a strong country in pageantry.

She took to social media on Saturday morning, June 13, to deliver her message for the Philippines’ 128th Independence Day, but mainly to give her piece about Espiritu’s comment on a now-deleted social media reel where he said, “This country wouldn’t have a chance on the national stage without us halfies.”

Henry, herself a “halfie” being born to a Filipino mother and a Canadian father, said, “This is a thought of a young boy who has not yet grown up, who has not yet experienced life, who has not yet gone through the hardships, has not earned enough wisdom to be dropping statements this early on in his career.”

Espiritu’s controversial take was a reply on a conversation thread that sprang from Palomo’s comment, “I pledge allegiance to the flag [United States flag emoji].” The supposed reel showed a group of men who were asked to sing a song from their respective countries.

Palomo sang “Happy Birthday” while Espiritu sang the Guamanian anthem. The video also showed 2024 Man of the World Sergio Azuaga from Venezuela singing “Feliz Navidad,” while German-Filipino Mister International Kirk Bondad sang a German song. Another guest sang a Russian song.

A netizen replied to Palomo’s and Espiritu’s comments to ask why they did not sing Filipino songs as previous representatives of the Philippines to international competitions. Espiritu responded, “Because we aren’t from the Philippines. Why would we lie.”

Addressing Espiritu and Palomo, Henry said, “I think you are a couple of boys who have overestimated your capabilities of issuing statements like that. You should be very careful about what you say, especially in this time and age where everything can be either misconstrued or will amplify, especially if you have a title.”

READ: Catriona Gray: Give the pageant platform to Filipinos who deserve it

Espiritu was proclaimed Mister Pilipinas Worldwide in 2023 and competed in the 2024 Mister Supranational pageant where he finished third. Palomo won in the 2025 national pageant and became a semifinalist in the Mister Global tilt.

Palomo had also previously represented the Philippine in the 2023 Mister Tourism World contest where he finished second. He just recently withdrew from the 2026 Mister World Philippines competition, citing scheduling conflicts.

“You both represented the Philippines, you both carried the Philippines sash across the chest, so there has to be a certain pride in that. And I think that your warped perspective should be the main issue, and should be the one to change,” Henry said.

She told Espiritu that instead of the Philippines being thankful for the “halfies,” they should be the ones thanking the country for allowing them to carry the nation onstage.

“This is a very immature kind of statement to make. You boys need to grow up really and take accountability now for your actions. I can see that Jethro issued a statement. So, Jethro, that’s great on your part. That’s the first step to acknowledging that you have done something wrong, and to move on and grow from this,” Henry said.

Espiritu earlier issued an “apology,” asking people to direct their hatred toward him and keep off his business interests. But he also deleted the statement. His Instagram account has remained inactive since, while Palomo’s posts were archived, save for his statement of apology.

“I’m using the term ‘boys’ because they are boys. Because I think men would have had a lot more wisdom and a lot more common sense before issuing these kinds od statements and playing around with these kinds of words and whatnot,” Henry said.

She also appealed to the public to rein in their attacks on the two and show “Filipino grace” to move on from the incident before crossing the line to bullying.

Henry said: “Please be mindful that these are boys, young boys at that, [who] made a mistake. But let’s not persecute them for the rest of their lives just because they made one mistake.” /ra