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Harlene “Hipon Girl” Budol defended herself after netizens threw hate towards her as she revealed her financial struggles in an interview with Toni Gonzaga.
In the said interview, Harlene admitted that she used up all her savings from Wowowin to help her family survive and said that she has no idea how to earn money as she, along with other employees, got sacked from the show due to the pandemic.
While she did admit that she became too complacent about her showbiz career, her online critics still accused her of being arrogant – acting like she made it or feeling like she’s popular.
Harlene was also criticized due to the two businesses she established and failed to do. Someone stated that the host should be thankful that she still has things that other people don’t have.
On one of her Instagram stories, Harlene defended herself by saying that she decided to share her story because she was asked to do so, and the reason she cried was that she felt like it.
“Kaya naman po ako nagnegosyo kasi nag-try po ako pero lugi. At araw-araw po ako nagpapa-salamat sa kung anong meron po ako. Sana po pinapanood niyo po ng buo,” she wrote.
“Di po ako nag-rereklamo kasi alam kong hindi lang po ako naapektuhan ng pandemic.”
During the interview with Toni Gonzaga, Harlene stated that she learned how a showbiz career isn’t long-lasting and that she shouldn’t have gotten too confident with her career.
“Totoo nga yung sinasabi [nila]. Hindi habang buhay nasa TV ka. Dalawang taon palang ako, wala na agad. Ang hirap. Ang hirap dun umasa. Naging kampante rin kasi ako [na baka] sa susunod may kumuha pa saking iba pag tinanggal ako [sa Wowowin].”
Harlene’s interview with Toni Gonzaga now has more than 4.8 million views and is trending #1 on YouTube as of writing.
All proceeds of the interview will be donated to Harlene.
