Xyriel Manabat has been making headlines recently for her exceptional performance in the hit teleserye Dirty Linen. Aside from her showbiz comeback, however, what wowed netizens the most was her undeniable glow-up since starring in May Bukas Pa and Agua Bendita as a child actress.
Now at 19, Xyriel is more comfortable flaunting her curves, but apparently, that hasn't always been the case back then. In a recent video by Star Magic, the former child actress reacted to netizens' comments about her and one of them was an unnecessary remark about her body. It read: "Sobrang laki naman ng boobs mo! Pabawas mo 'yan, baka mabastos ka!"
"Minsan yung iba pong kino-commentan natin ng ganito, hindi po kasi kasing-tibay ng loob ko, hindi po kasing lakas ng loob ko para lagpasan. Kasi ako po minsan, pag nakakabasa ako ng mga ganito, mga not-so-nice comments... Pwede po wag niyo po ako manduhan sa katawan ko, opo. Tignan niyo na lang, scroll niyo na lang, huwag na po kayo mag-comment hangga't maaari," she pleaded.
She added: "Hindi po body type ng tao ang mag-aadjust kung hindi yung utak po natin."
Another comment asked her to recall if she's ever seen or heard a comment that she did not like and what she did to overcome it. "For me, hindi po comment pero may nakikita po akong mga ginagamit yung pictures ko tapos i-e-edit nila na parang nakahawak sila sa private part ko. Tas minsan yung mga comment dun, parang vina-validate nila na parang, 'Eh kasi ganyan naman yung suot,' jinu-justify nila na, 'Eh kasi kamanyak-manyak naman talaga," she recalled.
"Kahit sabihin ko po na kailangan ko maging unbothered ka sa industriyang 'to... kailangan lalagpasan ko na lang yung mga ganun pero hindi po eh, maaapektuhan at maaapektuhan po ako eh. Hindi lang po yun basta pag-co-comment or pag-ba-bash... binabastos po nila ako at ino-objectify. Sine-sexual assault nila ako in a way. Hindi po yun dapat pinapalagpas."
The 19-year-old actress shared an instance that pushed her over the edge. Last 2020, she posted an OOTD picture of her donning a thin white shirt with a sando underneath and shorts. It garnered a lot of unnecessary and lewd remarks, and it got so bad that it made Xyriel take legal action.
"Actually, yung t-shirt na yun medyo manipis, so yung ginawa ko, nag-suot pa po ako ng sando sa loob. So parang double layer yun, para sure ako na 'di ako makikitaan," she explained. So hindi ko po nakikita kung bakit nila jinu-justify na kabastos-bastos... [Bakit] hindi na lang po i-correct na kahit kailan, hindi magiging tama ang pag-o-objectify ng tao, babae man o lalaki, minor man o hindi."
She added that she was only a *minor* when this incident happened. "I was 16. Tapos sobrang na-alter niya yung utak ko, yung thinking ko, because medyo marami-rami po akong napagdaanan noon at marami rin po akong binangga na alam kong kailangan kong i-educate, especially yung mga close-minded people."
Xyriel eventually overcame this with the help of therapy, as well as by taking legal action against those leaving NSFW comments and making lewd edits of her pictures. "Na-overcame ko po siya, gumawa po kami ng legal actions and nag-therapy po ako dahil sa mga ganun kong nababasa at nakikita kasi kailangan kong i-prioritize ang mental health ko kasi hindi talaga helpful yung mga ganung nakikita ko."
We support you all the way, Xyriel!
Watch the full video below:
*This story originally appeared on Candymag.com. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.