Gracie Bon insisted she was trying to help victims of the recent Panama earthquake, but the internet wasn’t buying her explanation.
The influencer was criticized for seemingly turning the devastating disaster into a photo-op and trying to gain extra sympathy from her 11.9 million followers on Instagram.
Her pictures made netizens question why she couldn’t raise awareness about the disaster without making herself the center of attention.
Gracie Bon sparked outrage after posing in front of earthquake-damaged homes in Panama
After last week’s massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake razed hundreds of homes the ground, Gracie Bon shared pictures of herself in front of the ruins.
Wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white crop top, the influencer was seen posing in front of the wreckage.
“The reality of my country after the earthquake,” she wrote in the caption.
“We have to remember that the material is recovered, but life is priceless,” the caption continued. “Live the present, be grateful for what we have and extend help to those who need it today.”
Her post drew immense backlash from viewers who felt she was being wildly inappropriate, turning people’s tragedies into an opportunity to increase her social clout.
“Seriously. Was it necessary to pose?” asked one viewer.
“I can’t believe she actually asked someone to take pictures of her in front of someone’s destroyed house,” one commented online
Another wrote, “I would never take a picture in the middle of a tragedy, people and their stuff.”
“‘How do I make this about me?’ What a need to go out posing in the middle of a disaster,” read another comment.
One said, “Momma, don’t you understand that for the message to get through, you don’t need to be in the picture?”
The model later shared a follow-up post, in which she insisted she was trying to raise awareness about the situation in her country.
“I decided to appear in my photos because I want people to make donations and if I appear in my photos they have a better reach on MY NETWORKS than if I put the images alone,” Gracie said in her defense.
The influencer said she wanted to encourage people to make donations to the affected families and knew that pictures with her would have a “better reach.”
“I’m not in a photoshoot or posing, I’m telling y’all ‘Look, this is how Panama really is,’” she said. “But you have a damaged heart that prefers to insult and not help the cause.”
The content creator later shared an update insisting she was trying to raise awareness
Gracie asked her haters: “If I hadn’t been in the picture, would it be okay? The [more important] question is: What is everyone doing to contribute?”
She also revealed that she was donating money for the reconstruction efforts in her country.
Earlier the same day, the content creator shared footage of herself inside what appeared to be a massive store.
She was seen acquiring supplies, including cases of water bottles and bags of rice, to donate to victims.
Gracie said photos with her included were likely to gain better reach
The influencer was also seen visiting victims in affected areas and handing supplies to them.
“Panama needs us,” she wrote in the caption.
She said some people were “fortunate” to be in the safety of their homes today, while others lost almost everything to their name and don’t know where they might be sleeping at night.
“Today I bring a grain of [rice], what to us is little, to someone else it may mean so much,” she added.
As she raised awareness about how people could help, Gracie included addresses where people could drop off food, water, diapers, hygiene products, and other basic necessities to donate to victims.
“Tomorrow you will forget about my photo, but that family will remain without a home,” she said in one video addressing the backlash over her photos.
27 people were injured and nearly 900 homes were damaged in the Panama earthquake
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No lives were lost in the recent earthquake that hit Panama, but at least 27 people sustained injuries.
Nearly 900 homes suffered damage, while several buildings collapsed and roads were split during the disaster.
The presidential minister, Juan Carlos Orillac, said the earthquake left homes, schools, healthcare facilities, roads, and hotels destroyed.
“It was a terrible thing,” a resident named Tony Jiménez, whose home partially collapsed, told The Guardian.
“I can tell you with absolute certainty that in my 90 years, I had never experienced anything like it,” he added. “It was intense – truly intense.”
“People are mean. She’s helping,” one commented online
