An online page dedicated to music events in the Philippines posted photos of previous concerts from the audience’s perspective after a TikTok user drew backlash over perceived elitism against concert-goers.
Philippine Concerts uploaded these photos on Monday, October 18.
The photos were captioned with: “Most of the times, fans in the GA/UB sections are the loudest crowd. Do you agree?,” referring to General Admission and Upper Box sections.
The page also made a separate tweet about being thankful for the privilege to be part of a concert.
“Whether you’re seated in Gen Ad or VIP, be grateful that you’re part of the concert. Not everyone has that kind of opportunity,” read the tweet.
Whether you’re seated in Gen Ad or VIP, be grateful that you’re part of the concert. Not everyone has that kind of opportunity.
— Philippine Concerts (@philconcerts) October 18, 2021
In most live show venues, the VIP section that is located near the stage has the priciest seats.
The sections Gen Ad and the Upper Box are areas situated farther away from the stage. They also have the relatively affordable seats.
In the comments section, some social media users followed suit to share photos and videos of themselves enjoying previous concerts in these areas.
“Silver Ocean during Elyxion in Manila. I’ve always dreamt of being part of this and I’m so happy I was able to witnessed and captured this moment and view from my seat (GA) 3 years ago,” one user said.
“Sobrang saya sa GA sa totoo lang. 6 concerts na napuntahan ko apat diyan GA ako. HAPPINESS OVERLOAD (heart emojis),” another user wrote.
Online fuss about general ad seats
While no person or video was mentioned in these posts, others brought up a TikTok video where the user seemed to discriminate the crowd from the VIP section with the audiences from the general admission part of the concert venues.
“I am in VIP, you are in gen ad,” read the text in the video.
Uhmmmm??????? pic.twitter.com/DlosRtdTDD
— Ysa (@ysabuys) October 17, 2021
The TikTok creator with the username s3cret04 immediately received a slew of criticisms on the platform and on Twitter.
She had since switched her account to private mode.
One Twitter user, meanwhile, managed to save a copy of another video where the creator issued her apology.
“I just sincerely want to apologize because I understand your concerns sa mga taong na-offend. It is very understandable. First, walang mali if you’re gen ad because dati di rin ako nagvi-VIP agad. And walang mali dun. As a Kpop fan and other boy group na napuntahan ko and other concert na napuntahan ko, walang mali to be a gen ad,” she said.
Called out for another video
The same TikTok user was also criticized for another video that was perceived to look down on poor families.
Some users managed to save copies of the video and shared them on the platform.
walang modo ‘to ang matapobre pic.twitter.com/880duaDpTr
— arki 🍳 (@sehunsilog) October 17, 2021
In the clip, the TikTok user initially defended her father who she said worked hard for their family to afford their needs and wants.
“My dad works so freaking hard to give us everything he was deprived of as a child. He was able to work hard and give us everything we need and we want,” she said.
Then, the user went on to ridicule children whose fathers could not provide the same for them.
“But you know what’s offensive? This, what I’m gonna say is what’s offensive: If your dad ain’t doing that. I’m sorry for you,” she said.
One of the Twitter users who shared a copy of the video denounced the TikTok user for these remarks.
“Wala siyang compassion sa mahirap…condemnation ang ginagawa niya (vomit emoji),” the Twitter user said.