Influencer Zoe Gabriel rose to stardom because of her video showing her newly-brought bag that she thought was already a ‘luxury’.
Zoe went viral after receiving support from the netizens after being become a subject of ridicule from her critics.
Because of her video, Zoe became one of the brand ambassadresses of the said fashion company, and she also became one of the endorsers of an airline company.
However, some netizens were already suspecting that Zoe was already making ‘sob stories’ to gain engagement on social media, including labelling herself to be poor.
Netizen Elaine Song shared his investigation, trying to debunk Zoe’s claims that her parents were poor.
“I have noticed something strange about Zoe Gabriel. She dropped out of secondary 2 education in Singapore, citing her father’s inability to afford the school fees. However, if her father is truly financially unstable, it would be unlikely for him to have been able to work and live in Singapore for so many years, as well as bring his four children and wife from the Philippines to live with him here. It is more probable that Zoe found Singapore’s education system challenging and was unable to succeed, hence repeatedly using her father’s financial predicament as an excuse.” Song said.
“She [also] claimed to have suffered from scoliosis since childhood, attributing her height of 154cm to her father’s inability to pay for her medical expenses. Once again, this statement suggests that her father lacks the financial means to support his children’s healthcare needs. Based on World Population Review, Filipinos have one of the lowest average heights on the planet. Due to the influence of genetics on height, Zoe’s complete recovery from scoliosis may not necessarily result in her reaching a maximum height of 160cm, considering her parents’ short stature. Therefore, it would be incorrect for Zoe to blame her height on her father’s financial status, as mentioned in her video.” she added.
Song argued that there’s a possibility that Zoe was only pretending to be poor to gain more sympathy from netizens.
“Using a disadvantaged family background is an effective way to elicit sympathy from people, and she appears to frequently use this method. I have taught several students from low-income families during my time as a tutor in Singapore, and I have not seen them resort to dropping out or using their economic situation as a pretext for everything.” she wrote.
“I am willing to bet that in her next and future social media posts, she will again highlight her “poor,” “medically ill,” and “humble” background and claim that everything is a luxury or privilege to gain attention.
“Either she is highly skilled at emotionally manipulating others, or her father is neglectful in providing his children with basic education and healthcare. In this regard, I believe it is a combination of both- she is emotionally manipulative, and her father is a financially negligent parent.”
According to some sources, Zoe’s father was working as a mechanical engineer for a Singaporean company.
Song also warned her fellow Singaporeans not to believe Zoe’s stories easily.
Meanwhile, Zoe’s camp denied the accusations of Song and thanked their fans for their support.
