MANILA, Philippines — Former Mister Supranational Philippines Brandon Espiritu traveled to Osaka, Japan for a “healing” break following the backlash over his controversial remarks about the “halfies” or mixed-race Filipino pageant contestants.
Speaking in an interview uploaded on social media app Threads by Brazilian content creator Eren Wayne Jr., Espiritu said the trip came after weeks of intense online scrutiny sparked by comments he made on Instagram.
“ Actually, I came here, to be honest with you, I’ll be real. I do a lot of content too. I was doing lifestyle, fitness, wellness content for, like, ten years. And I also own businesses in Manila and all these stuff, like wellness club, café, and bar, and then a beach club. But I went through some public backlash, like, last week when I dropped a comment on Instagram,” he said.
According to him, he decided to deactivate his social media accounts and take a break from content creation.
“And it wasn’t supposed to be ill-intent but it just blew up and I was, like. so infamous for, like, two weeks online, like crazy backlash so I deactivated my stuff,” he said.
Describing Osaka as a place of refuge, Espiritu called it a “healing place” as he sought distance from the controversy.
“I am just taking a break from social media for, like, two months and that’s kinda wild here too. I just wanna take a break, I am doing so much work on socials.. I don’t have even socials anymore. From my 500,000 followers to now just not doing content at all,” he said.
The backlash stemmed from comments he made during an online discussion involving Filipino pageant representatives. The issue began after Mister Pilipinas Global 2025 Jether Palomo, who was born in the United States to Filipino parents, drew criticism for not singing in Tagalog when asked in an interview.
Espiritu later joined the discussion and, in response to criticism of Filipino representatives raised abroad, wrote that the Philippines “wouldn't have a chance on the national stage without us halfies.”
The remark quickly went viral and drew criticism from pageant fans and industry figures who viewed it as belittling the capabilities of full-blooded Filipinos competing in pageantry.
Addressing the issue in the interview, Espiritu said many people misunderstood what he meant.
“A lot of Filipinos got really mad about that. They thought that I was basically saying all Filipinos are less than half Filipinos in general. But I was just basically speaking in context of the pageant,” he said.
“But I will say, like, it was an arrogant comment. I should have not dropped that and I do respect my country, my people....I definitely see where I went wrong but, yeah, man, I gotta take a break."
He maintained that his faith sustains his confidence through the controversy.
“If this goes out to Internet, I just want to let everybody know like if sh*t hits the fan — whether it’s money, your career, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, anything external or you can’t control — you could still find confidence in God, in your faith...I am only here, you’re only here because of our faith and, like, without Him, I’m not confident at all. So you can take anything away from me but you can’t take that away from me," he added.
Days after the controversy, Espiritu issued a public apology on Instagram, acknowledging that his comment came across as disrespectful and expressing regret over the reaction it generated.
“I responded impulsively and made a remark that came across as disrespectful to many Filipinos. That was not my intention, but I understand why people were upset,” he wrote at the time.
He also stressed that he remains proud of his Filipino heritage and never intended to diminish the accomplishments of Filipinos representing the country on the international stage.
