Panamanian influencer Gracie Bon has faced a flood of backlash after posting images of herself in the aftermath of the earthquake in Panama.
Gracie Bonilla posted a six-photo series on Instagram on Sunday, in which she appeared in white standing amid the earthquake’s rubble, with scattered bricks, destroyed beds, and other remnants of collapsed buildings. Within 24 hours, the post gained approximately 150,000 likes and thousands of comments from people calling her out for using a national disaster as an opportunity to take pictures of herself.
In the Spanish caption to her photos, Bon said she shared the images as a reflection of her country after the earthquake, reminding her followers, more than 11 million, that “material things can be recovered, but life has no price.” She thanked everyone for their support and for helping rebuild homes for people in need.
However, not everyone agreed. People accused Bon of using her picture instead of pictures of people who lost their houses, criticized her poses, and the background with destroyed houses. Some users said she tried to get additional attention for her career on OnlyFans.
Others agreed that Bon was helping and said the picture could attract more people to help the worst-affected areas.
Bon reacted to the backlash on TikTok, denying the claim that she arranged a photo shoot.
“Yes, I’m in the photo, but I’m not posing,” she said. “I simply decided to pick a photo where I’m in it versus one where I’m not, because I know it will get more reach and attention from my followers, and I can help rebuild a house, a family, just like I share trips or dance clips. I’m also going to share the good things I do, so why hide it?”
“A few days ago, I went to donate from my own money, without asking anyone for anything,” Bon said. “I’m not a politician; I don’t profit a single cent from this. My intention was to help with resources and find one or two families that I could help rebuild their house.”
She said that she asked her team to document the trip. “When I arrived, I saw everything destroyed and all those kids and families without food,” she said. “It was so devastating for me.”
“This is also our reality,” Bon said, adding that “while many insist that everything’s fine, there are people who lost everything, people who worked for years, sacrificed their lives to build their home, and in a matter of seconds it was all gone.”
“And instead of talking about them, they’re talking about a picture of me,” she added. It made her think whether people have “hearts so damaged” that a picture of her donating angers them more than a family losing its home.
Bon also pointed out that the video of her handing out donations reached fewer people than the photo that people criticized her for. “They have nothing to say, because many are just behind that keyboard to criticize and don’t help,” she said.
“The question is: what have you done so far to help Panama?” she asked. “Tomorrow you’ll forget my photo, but that family will still be without a home.”
@graciebon.xl hay gente que se indigna más por una foto que por ver a familias perderlo todo. a veces el problema no es lo que hacemos, sino los ojos con los que ustedes deciden verlo. ❤️🩹
♬ เสียงต้นฉบับ – SAN577 🎧🇱🇦🎶 – SAN577 🎧🇱🇦🎶
She addressed the criticism once again in a TikTok video posted on Tuesday. “Guys, I need to vent. I’m tired,” she said. “I’m tired of people who only exist to criticize, who only exist to judge and point out what you do wrong, and no matter what you do, they already have an opinion of you.”
“I’m fed up that with this Panama situation they’ve focused so much on calling me out, telling me all the bad stuff, instead of actually getting up from their couches, putting their phones down for a moment and helping,” she said.
@graciebon.xl sobre la situación de Panamá
♬ original sound – graciebon
Bon said that she was visiting her family in Panama City when the earthquake hit, and she was not personally affected. She stated that families in the countryside lost everything but did not receive any media attention because no one died, so she contributed more than $20,000 to donations.
She said that when she arrived, she saw people sleeping on the floor in the rain without any government help. Bon took pictures of the damaged houses with the families’ permission and promised to help them rebuild.
Bon said the image that sparked the backlash was the photo of her after the donation, not the photo shoot. She said that she wanted to help with what she could: “my money, my reach, and my followers.”
Before the controversial post, Bon shared videos of herself buying supplies for earthquake victims and spreading information on how to donate on her account. This attracted little opposition.
Bon promised to keep helping families affected by the disaster.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred at 12:56 p.m. on Friday with its epicenter on the Azuero Peninsula in southern Herrera province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It occurred at a shallow depth of 12.6 kilometers (7.8 miles) and is the strongest quake to hit Panama since 1882. Another quake, magnitude 6.6, followed later that day.
According to Panama’s National Civil Protection System, 27 people were injured, most suffering minor to moderate injuries from falls and falling debris. No deaths have been reported.
Officials declared a state of national emergency on Saturday after noting damage in all 10 provinces and two Indigenous territories, with the worst destruction in Veraguas, Herrera, Coclé, and Los Santos. More than 400 buildings were damaged, including houses, schools, hospitals, churches, and bridges. In Tonosí, a hotel and several houses collapsed, while in Penonomé the cathedral’s bell tower was shattered and the Coclé governor’s office across the street collapsed.
More than 100 aftershocks have shaken the region, and many families near the epicenter spent nights outdoors over the weekend. About 300 people were evacuated from Isla Caña off the Los Santos coast because of rough seas, and public and private schools in the country closed on Monday while engineers inspected buildings.
