"It was an honest mistake," internet personality Donnalyn Bartolome explains in a Facebook post following a backlash over her baby-themed birthday shoot. In the now-deleted Facebook post, Donna was clad in sexualized baby outfits. One of the layouts depicted her wearing only a bib and cloth napkin in a cake-smashing scene popular among toddler photo shoots. In another, she was dressed in a skin-toned bodysuit while drinking from a baby bottle. Her series of photos were captioned, "Me as your baby~ goo goo ga ga."
On Facebook, netizens were aghast over the post and called out the social media influencer. They pointed out that her photo shoot promotes "pedophilic culture," and could be harmful to her millions of young followers who look up to her. Netizens were also quick to clarify that being body-positive has nothing to do with her photos. One Facebook user explained, "Please note that the body-positive movement DOES NOT and SHOULD NOT have to co-exist with nor even be the basis for acts promoting pedophilia."
In her apology, Donna says that " it was never [her] intention to enable one of the most horrifying acts here on Earth." Donna also took action to undo her mistake. "I couldn’t remove my post right away because I needed it to copyright the photos to prevent the spread of it furthermore until I got a go signal from Facebook and other socmed managers," she disclosed. According to Donna, she needed "an assurance that they know I am the owner of the photo and they’ll help me correct this by taking down all of the posts involving this photoshoot." She also encouraged her followers to help them take down all traces of her photos and posts.
Donna also took the opportunity to explain as to how this shoot was conceptualized. She shares that she only wanted a "light and funny" way to celebrate her 28th birthday. "Almost a million people across socmed platforms thought of it light and funny because they know my personality and didn’t look at it that way hence our initial reaction to the idea was the same," Donna continued.
However, given the feedback from netizens who called her out, she humbly admitted to the oversight. She explains, "Upon reading other people’s perspective, I completely agree. I feel terrible, sick to my stomach and had disturbing flashbacks I’d rather not say."
She also opened up about her past revealing her own traumas, and emphasized that she did not want to sexualize babies nor enable pedophilia. "I was called crazy for being overprotective to all of my siblings, ones I took care of since they were babies. It has come to the point where I had to go to a psych to understand my actions because the level of protectiveness was quite extreme, all I’m saying is I’ve taken care of children since I was 11 years old, this was the last thing I would ever intend to do," she explained.
In the same post, Donna acknowledged the responsibility she holds as an influencer and thanked everyone who took the time to kindly let her know of the mistake. "You’re the type of people who help me become a better person everyday as I hold the responsibility of influencing millions." She also promised to do better, saying, "It’s not easy, but I’ll do my best."
The social media influencer ended her post by shedding light on an important cause. She writes, "While you’re here. I’d like to use this attention for those who want to help abused children. There is a care-facility I was admitted in when I was a minor: Nayon ng Kabataan. The children admitted there carry so much pain, you can donate or send them little gifts to make them feel better. Thanks everyone and I’m sorry."
As of writing, Donna's original posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have been taken down. Her YouTube vlog about her baby-themed birthday shoot was also deleted from her channel.
Hey, Preview readers! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, and Twitter to stay up to speed on all things trendy and creative. We’ll curate the most stylish feed for you!
