A plus-sized influencer is facing heavy backlash after she seemingly used earthquake ruins as the backdrop for a photo spread.
Videos by Wide Open Country
On Oct. 9, southern Panama was hit with a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake. According to the Associated Press, the quake led to multiple buildings collapsing and evacuations in the affected areas. It was followed by a 6.1 earthquake on Monday, per the AP.
While many would steer clear of the devastation and misery, at least one influencer decided to document the disaster. With herself front and center, of course.
Indeed, plus-sized Panamanian influencer Gracie Bon enjoys nearly 12 million followers on Instagram. Fans seem not to be able to get enough of the model standing in various locations while sporting a decidedly rotund derrière.
However, her epic figure couldn't save her from the scorn of onlookers after the influencer decided to take snapshots amongst the earthquake ruins in Panama. The series of shots showed a seemingly nonplussed Bon in various poses alongside destroyed residential areas. In one shot, she seemingly posed with her hand behind her head, lifting her shirt enough to showcase her tight tummy.
Of course, plenty of onlookers took to the comments section to roast the influencer for what seemed like extremely poor taste.
"Posing with someone else's misfortune must be a joke," one Instagram denizen wrote in Spanish.
"Seriously. Was it necessary to pose?" a second irate IG denizen wondered.
"How do I make this about me! What a need to go out posing in the middle of a disaster," a third person chimed in.
Influencer Expertly Spins Fallout After Seemingly Botched Earthquake Photo Spread
However, the influencer, not at all loving the attention, returned to IG to explain her actions. She also flexed her social media skills, expertly spinning the situation...
"I am not posing. I simply decided to post a picture of myself in it," she explained in a follow-up post. "My intention was to help with resources and find some families that I could help rebuild their homes."
The influencer also pinned a video on her Instagram grid of her gathering supplies for disaster victims.
"Panama needs us," she wrote in Spanish alongside the video. "While some today are fortunate enough to be safe in our homes, there are families who have lost almost everything and do not know where they will sleep tonight. Today I bring a grain of sand; what to us is little, to someone else it may mean so much."
She also added the addresses of donation centers in the area.
This time, the comments section seemed much more gracious.
"Thank you, Gracie. My family received your donations today in Los Santos, Colorado," one top comment read. "Love you, sister; always proud of your noble heart," another onlooker wrote.
Still, not everyone was feeling it.
"You wanted an applause or a like," one IG user wrote.
