Actress Cristine Reyes has defended herself following heavy criticism from netizens over a Facebook post where she expressed condolences for the passing of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu while also greeting herself on her 36th birthday.

In her original post, Cristine shared a throwback photo of herself with Barbie Hsu, known in the Philippines as Shan Cai from the hit series ‘Meteor Garden’. Cristine mourned Barbie’s sudden death due to pneumonia but ended the post with a personal birthday message.

“Rest in peace our childhood favorite. Also, happy 36th bday sa akin ngayon araw na ‘to,” the actress wrote.

The post quickly went viral, with many netizens finding the combination of a condolence message and birthday greeting inappropriate. Screenshots of the now-deleted post circulated on X (formerly Twitter), sparking both criticism and sarcastic humor.

Some of the trending reactions included:

In response to the backlash, Cristine Reyes took to her Instagram Stories to address the issue, lamenting how people expect celebrities to be flawless at all times.

“Maligayang kaarawan sa akin. Yun na lang… oks na? Kailangan palaging perfect. Bawal magkamali nowadays,” she wrote.

She also spoke about the cruelty of online judgment and how mistakes are often met with harsh consequences.

“May kalupitan na kapalit sa mga bagay kapag nagkamali e, di ba? Marahil ako nga talaga ay nagluluksa ngayong kaarawan ko. Good? Ang daming magagaling sa mundo,” Cristine added.

While many continued to criticize Cristine’s post, others sympathized with her, noting that celebrities are also human and prone to missteps. Supporters urged people to show more understanding and compassion.