Brandon Espiritu deactivates Instagram following ‘halfies’ backlash

Filipino-American pageant titleholder Brandon Espiritu has deactivated his Instagram account following backlash over his controversial remarks about “halfies” or mixed-race Filipino contestants. 

Espiritu, who represented the Philippines at the 2024 Mister Supranational pageant in Poland and finished as second runner-up, drew criticism after responding to a netizen who questioned why he did not sing a Tagalog song during a gathering with fellow international candidates. 

“Tell that to all the front runners for the Philippines. This country wouldn’t have a chance on the national stage without us halfies,” Espiritu wrote in response. 

READ: Pageant ‘halfies’ weigh in on Brandon Espiritu, Jether Palomo’s remarks

Espiritu came under fire for his statement, with many netizens accusing the pageant king of belittling full-blooded Filipino aspirants and implying that mixed-race contestants were more capable of succeeding in international competitions. 

Following the backlash, Espiritu’s Instagram following dropped from over 214,000 followers from the time the controversy started to around 198,000. As of this writing, his account has been deactivated. 

Aside from Espiritu, another Fil-Am pageant titleholder, Jether Palomo, also drew backlash after he commented that he is pledging allegiance to the American flag on the former’s “halfie” sentiment Instagram reel. 

Several personalities from the pageant industry reacted to the controversy, including Miss Universe Philippines 2025 first runner-up Wynwyn Marquez, Miss Grand International 2024 first runner-up CJ Opiaza, Filipino-Palestinian beauty queen Gazini Ganados, and actress-beauty queen Stacey Gabriel. /edv