How Teen TikToker Zoe Gabriel Went From Bullied to Triumphant
A viral post got people thinking about how ‘luxury’ can mean different things to different people
Words by Andre Lawes Menchavez
When 17-year-old Filipina Zoe Gabriel shared a video two weeks ago of her first luxury bag purchase with her TikTok followers, she had no idea what she was in for. She was delighted in the bag, a gift from her dad, but online trolls forced the video to go viral, bullying her and her father with claims that the $80 Charles & Keith bag she shared was “not a luxury brand or bag.”
@zohtaco thank you dad 🥹
♬ Glitch - Just audios
Thousands of TikTokers came to her defense, and then she issued her own response: A nearly two-minute clap-back at the social media trolls, defending her family with her head held high.
“Your comments spoke volumes on how ignorant you seem because of your wealth,” Gabriel said in the video, with tears in her eyes. “To you, an $80 bag may not be luxury, but for me and my family, it is a lot. And I am so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”
@zohtaco Replying to @cressy ♬ original sound - zoe 🦋
The levelheaded response also went viral, surpassing 6 million views on TikTok. Her initial bag video has now reached more than 21 million views.
“My first reaction [to the hate] was to make that response TikTok to defend my dad,” Gabriel tells me in an interview over Zoom. “A lot of the initial comments were actually attacking my dad, not me. So my first instinct was to defend someone I loved, because people were attacking someone who I believed did absolutely nothing wrong.”
@zohtaco Replying to @Brandon7916 ♬ The Best Day (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift
Gabriel and her family moved from the island of Manila, Philippines, to Singapore in 2010. Her now widely-loved-on-TikTok father works as a mechanical engineer and a part time teacher. Gabriel’s viral videos not only showed her maturity but displayed her deep gratitude for her family, which granted her a rise to TikTok stardom that came with much deserved food, travel and fashion brand partnerships—including one with Charles & Keith, who iconically invited her and her dad to their headquarters and gifted her a number of bags. Gabriel was even recently invited to meet with city officials, including the mayor, from her hometown in the Philippines.
@zohtaco @CHARLES & KEITH #charleskeith #imwithcharleskeith ♬ thenineteenseventyfive - push baby
“Growing up I did not have a lot, my family didn’t have a lot. We couldn’t buy new things as simple as bread,” Gabriel said in her TikTok. “Every time we’d pass by a store, my parents would just say ‘Next time,’ but next time would never come.”
Gabriel’s story resonated with millions of people across the world who understood this pain. This is especially true of some Asian people like myself who grew up in immigrant families where the children watched as their parents worked tirelessly to provide the bare necessities for their family—all while we witnessed our more affluent peers maneuver comfortably through life.
@zohtaco no bc mayor and vice mayor are so cool, vm’s ringtone is a pop song 😭😭😭
♬ Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Edison Lighthouse
“From this experience especially, I’ve learned that although we all have completely different lives, there’s always somebody out there that can relate to something similar that you struggle with and can understand what you’re going through,” Gabriel says, reflective upon her increased social media visibility and the thousands of comments from people around the world that have seen themselves in her story. “I want to tell young Filipino people at home that come from families that may be struggling financially that they’re not the only ones in the world who may feel [embarrassed]. I’ve been there too! But there’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Like my story shows, you can still have nice things...even when you don’t have money.”
As the “Bag Saga,” as Gabriel calls it, begins to fade into the social media landscape as new trends and stories emerge, Gabriel explains she is less focused on TikTok and more focused on her education.
@zohtaco Replying to @𝐝*ೃ༄ ♬ original sound - zoe 🦋
“I wouldn’t say I’m an influencer, Andre,” Gabriel says with a laugh after I referred to her as one. “I’ve just been having fun on TikTok! But I am a high school senior graduating in June or July, and even though I don’t know what I want to do for a career exactly, I do know that I want to study creative writing in university. Uni has always been my dream and I love poetry.”
It was beautiful to see Gabriel’s story get continuously amplified by millions across the world. She’s an inspiring figure who represents some of our greatest traits as Filipinx people—brave, triumphant and unwavering in our willingness to fight for who we love.
Published on January 26, 2023