Five things you should know about the Filipina Tiktok sensation
Bella Poarch’s name doesn’t exactly ring a bell in the Twitter world and K-pop fandom, until one controversial slip-up in a video showing her tattoo of the Japanese rising sun. To Koreans, the symbol seems to be a counterpart of the Nazi Germany Swastika. It is considered to be highly offensive in their culture. The backlash went as far as insulting Filipinos of being poor, ugly, short, and uneducated, likewise urging Filipino netizens to “cancel” Koreans and their racism.
READ MORE: Why #CancelKorea and #ApologizeKorea is trending
https://twitter.com/bellapoarch/status/1302419388599943168
But how well do people know Bella, who goes to Tiktok just to share her comedic video game dubs? Let’s get to know the 23-year-old Filipina Tiktok sensation (more than 200 million views on one Tiktok!) behind her cutesy e-girl ensembles and the controversies surrounding her.
She served for three years in the United States navy.
If you scroll long enough on her Instagram profile, you will see that her first post is about her military days. More than just a pretty face, Bella was in the US Navy in 2017, where she served for three years. Although she has left, her Instagram bio declares she is a proud US Navy veteran. This proves how strong-willed she is, and can probably slay you in one Call of Duty: Warzone game (and IRL).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGHXSDBNk4/
Born in the Philippines, she is currently living in Hawaii.
Bella was born in 1997. Both Bella’s parents lived in the Philippines when she was young, then her family decided to move to United States when she was 13.
There’s not a lot of information about her early life but she constantly shares about her childhood, which was all about music, art, video games, and anime.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCbyw-PBWRU/
She started her Tiktok account on April 2020. She has since gained 15 million followers…
…145 million likes on the app, over two million followers on Instagram, and more than 16,300 followers on Twitter. No wonder the issue and hashtags grew a following, too.
She went viral for her ‘M to the B’ Tiktok video.
Bella’s gaming dubs, lip syncs, montages, and dance entries win her a spot on Tiktok’s most recognized list, but her most popular yet is this video, which reached 320 million views. She is a big fan of Japanese culture so she makes a lot of anime references, mostly shown in her cosplays, tattoos, makeup looks, and the infamous “ahegao” facial expression. And, like the Pinoy that she is, she also sings really well. You can say it’s in the blood.
She’s going through mental health problems.
Bella recently took to her Instagram to show how badly she wanted to try Twitch, a game-streaming platform, but her post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, and “bad anxiety” might somehow trigger a breakdown in the middle of her live show. According to her tweet, she’s been diagnosed since 2017. “Don’t worry about me, I’ve been living with it, and I have a good support system to help me,” her caption says.