What did Benny Blanco do? Jollibee controversy explained as producer incites wrath of Filipinos across the world

Recently, American record producer Benny Blanco reviewed a few food items from the famous Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee via TikTok, which created controversy online.

Trigger warning: This article mentions certain words that may offend the readers. Discretion is advised.

“Not a lot of you know but my stepmom is from the Philippines, so I grew up eating a sh*t load of Filipino food,” he began while also clarifying that he never tried Jollibee food before.

Immediately after, he began digging into his takeout food, comprising adobo rice, fried chicken, gravy, and a cup of pineapple juice. While he found the rice “dry a*s,” he said that the gravy was “soggy” after dipping the chicken into it.

Next, he dipped another chicken piece into the juice, only to regret his idea. He wrapped the video by spitting out a kind of Filipino pasta.

In the wake of this now-viral video, Benny Blanco is facing severe backlash online from Filipinos.

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“Be respectful, it’s not that hard”: Benny Blanco comes under fire for his Jollibee review

Benny Blanco recently reviewed Jollibee’s food on TikTok. However, he seemed unimpressed with the Filipino food chain. He found the adobo rice “dry” and said it tasted “like b*tt,” the gravy for the fried chicken “soggy,” dipping the chicken into the pineapple juice “a bad idea,” and was not happy with the fries on the side either.

He also threw up Filipino spaghetti with hotdogs back into the container it came in, saying it smelled like “vomit.” He added the word “eww” and said that the dish “ruined my night.” He ended his clip by saying that the Peach Mango Pie was okay, but he did not recommend Jollibee to his viewers.

As soon as the TikTok video went viral, it earned him severe backlash online for reportedly being disrespectful to Filipino culture. Here are some of the criticisms under @memoryweapons’ post on X and elsewhere on the platform, with many dragging his girlfriend Selena Gomez into it.

Notably, Benny Blanco responded to the backlash with a second video. Here, he tasted other Filipino dishes such as pancit, longganisa, which according to him was “sweet, a little bit spicy," grilled chicken, which had a “big smoky flavor,” and a Jollibee Chicken Sandwich, as reported by Philstar.

"All right these are all the highest-rated Filipino places in LA. Apparently, all the Jollibees in LA are not as good in the Philippines or New York. But my friend told me to get the best one, the Jollibee Chicken Sandwich," he stated in his new video.

The 35-year-old also changed his initial review and said that the sandwich was “so good” that he “completely reverse my opinion of how it sucked.” Benny Blanco even told his audience to “go there just for this.”

He wrapped his video by saying that his stepmother Cora made the best lumpia, describing it as “basically the s*xiest fried egg roll.”

Benny Blanco even suggested eating the Jollibee Chicken Sandwich by adding two pieces of lumpia on top of the chicken fillet and pouring spicy vinegar sauce over it.