While “Filipino Pride” appears to be a celebrated facet of one’s identity, Canadian actress and entrepreneur Shay Mitchell seemed to have forgotten her mother’s roots during her HBO Max series, Thirst With Shay Mitchell. In the clip that made rounds on the Internet, she demonstrated her strong tolerance for spiciness, and credits it to her heritage—her “Irish father and her mother of Spanish descent.”
Since the upload, Filipinos online appear displeased with Mitchell, as several noted her previous warm embrace of being Filipina. According to her IMDb page, her mother, Precious Garcia, hails from Pampanga, making Mitchell half-Filipino. She is also the reported niece of Broadway icon Lea Salonga, noting Garcia and Salonga’s first cousin ties.
According to Inquirer POP!, Mitchell explained the difficulties in accepting her ethnicity growing up. She received discriminatory remarks from her peers due to her appearance which resulted in hiding to avoid their taunts. However, she eventually realized the importance of her roots and embraced her Filipino identity over time.
“Why am I trying to change myself? I should be proud of who I am and what my heritage is,” she told Pop Sugar in a 2016 interview.
Mitchell followed up the story on a recent episode of Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals, where she presented her struggles of trying to fit in—regarding the experience as something she would never want her children to experience.
“…To show that exterior part to the world, it was dying my hair lighter [and] wearing contacts. I look back and I’m like why? You know especially now as a mother, it would break my heart to ever hear my girls would want to change their appearance,” she mentioned.
Shay Mitchell claiming she's half "spanish" like Vanessa Hudgens used to.
Why do Filipino women married to white men love to identify as Spanish when they don't even look it? No tf you're not. You're INDIO af. Katutubo. Native. Own it. pic.twitter.com/PkxOczhNIr
— Mimasaur (@AsiasTweetybird) June 19, 2024
With the Pretty Little Liars actress leaving out her Filipino distinction on her show, the Internet expressed their disappointment with Mitchell’s decision to mask her heritage.
See more below.
This is so sad, Shay Mitchell ashamed of being Filipino . I feel bad for her mum pic.twitter.com/Pu4fyWJFs5
— brian (@iscreengrab) June 17, 2024
Well, well, well. Looks like Shay Mitchell is a Pretty Little Liar, after all. Her mom, Precious Garcia, is not Spanish. She is a Filipina from Pampanga. Her Wiki page says it all. The same Wiki bio also lists Lea Salonga as her cousin. And she has the audacity to say she's Half… pic.twitter.com/4dFhwy8nh4
— CallMeByMyRealName 🍓🪷👜 (@yesitisprecious) June 22, 2024
shay mitchell claiming to be a spanish conquistador instead of filipino… baby you got your whole face and skin from mom 🤡 pic.twitter.com/9iN4NLEAaU
— is (@forkbum) June 23, 2024
Shay Mitchell doing an interview calling herself Spanish and not Filipino when I distinctly remember her doing an interview a while back about accepting her Filipino roots and culture is sooo incredibly sad and disappointing
— mai⁷ (@mailoveseokjin) June 18, 2024
tbh shay mitchell calling herself spanish is genuinely insane 😭😭😭😭😭 bc why do you feel the need to lie like that
— iboro (@iborooo) June 23, 2024
Having to disown Shay Mitchell because she claimed her colonizer identity over her Filipino identity hurts my soul…but alas, we must do what we must do 🇵🇭💔 pic.twitter.com/YQC5Y74le4
— Tay Tawan’s phanrayaa (@RRivo) June 22, 2024
shay mitchell saying her mom’s spanish when her mom’s from pampanga 😭😭 ctfu bc the kapampangan language sounds more malay than spanish… like at least just say you’re malaysian or indonesian since you seem to label your company as “aapi-owned”
— rio ! (@nanagojou) June 20, 2024
