By Audrey Cabaltica
Many fans don!t know that Olivia Rodrigo is half Filipino. They assume she’s white. When I found out Olivia was Filipino, I was so pleased because I felt represented. She’s just like me!
In school, I’ve always been the only Filipino kid in the whole school. People are always confused about my ethnicity and are never able to guess it. When I tell them I’m Filipino, they have no idea what that is or where I’m from. I’ve even been called “Philippinese” and “Philipean” by my Indian and Chinese classmates.
When my classmates tell me they don’t know anyone who’s Filipino, I tell them Olivia Rodrigo is Filipino. The reaction is the same every time, “What?! Really?” They had no clue until I told them.
I love Olivia and look up to her because she’s a Filipina artist known around the whole world. She just finished her 2024 Guts World Tour which ended in the Philippines where she had her biggest crowd of 55,000. While she charged over $1,000 concert tickets in the US, she only charged $10 in the Philippines so many of her fans can watch her. The she donated all her profits to fund healthcare for women and girls.
During her concert in Manila, Olivia Rodrigo announced she learned how to say, “Proud Pinoy ako!” This shocked lots of people online who never knew she was Filipino. I saw TikToks of fans expressing their surprise and saying they thought she was white. Some even thought she was Mexican.
I was so disappointed when I saw these videos and felt very frustrated with her fans. How can you call yourself a fan when you don’t even know Olivia’s ethnicity? All this time people didn’t even know Olivia was Asian.
When you search up “Olivia Rodrigo ethnicity” there are multiple articles addressing the confusion about her Filipino descent. There are also many Reddit posts under r/OliviaRodrigo arguing whether Olivia is Filipino or not.
A popular thread I’ve seen is the topic of Olivia being Hispanic. I’ve read multiple comments online of people thinking Olivia is half Latina and some Hispanics saying they’re proud of having Olivia represent them, even though she is not Latina at all. This really frustrates me because Olivia is a Filipina artist, but no one knows it!
Last February, there was a viral TikTok of a famous influencer reviewing different Crumbl Cookies. One of the cookies reviewed was the Olivia
Rodrigo GUTS Cookie. In the review, the influencer says “Olivia Rodriguez, that little Mexican girl that be crying”. Many people who watched this video were confused and were arguing in comments about Olivia’s ethnicity. Most thought Olivia was really Mexican. Olivia herself even made a TikTok using this audio as a joke, but some fans really thought she was being serious that she was Mexican.
Olivia’s ethnicity should not even be something that should be debated. Olivia is a Filipino-American and she identifies as such. I really hope fans correct their knowledge and learn her true heritage. I am proud to share the same ethnic background as Olivia and I want her to be the one people think of when I tell them I’m Filipino.
Audrey is a Filipino American who studies in Silicon Valley and likes to write.
