Hilaria Baldwin pretended to be Spanish wtf?!

[Ballstothis148]

This is the least important and most weird story of 2020.... this woman comes up on my Instagram a lot as a suggested page. Tbh I don’t find her interesting but know she’s Spanish and is into health, having babies with Alec Baldwin and that’s pretty much it. She speaks with a Spanish accent, on her IG page she calls her children “Baldwinitos” I do remember an article saying when she speaks Spanish to her kids people confuse her for a nanny so I thought an interesting take on a European mum in the States.

Except it’s all a lie. She’s not remotely Spanish. Her wealthy Boston parents (no Spanish ancestry) now have a holiday home there.

What is wrong with people?! I include me for being too interested :) why pretend to be Spanish? In one interview she even pretended she didn’t know the word for cucumber as her English isn’t that good

Oh and she’s not even called Hilaria, she’s called Hilary. This year I swear... what an odd story!! I did know a girl who went very French after a romance there one year... maybe it’s a thing!

@regularbutpanickingabit’s post is iconic.

By the way, what is this bullshit about “attacking a woman”?

To those posters, where’s your voice for the Spanish women, and by extension Spanish speaking female immigrants of the USA, that have been negatively impacted by this? Aspects of their culture which they have been bullied over, this rich white American woman has manipulated into her “thing” to achieve money and fame? In the process stealing their opportunities etc. How is this any different than transgender women beating ciswomen in the Olympics by using their natural advantages?

@regularbutpanickingabit

The outrage is because she has made a (great) living out of being an ‘exotic’ Spanish woman who didn’t know pop culture because she didn’t have a tv for her Spanish-in-Spain upbringing until she came to NYC at 19. That she was born in Mallorca and lived her childhood there. That her mum is Spanish. That Spanish is her native language. That her skin and hair are dark because she is Spanish. That she deserves to bring a Spanish heritage to jobs and opportunities. All lies.

Why does that matter?

1. She has actively and pro-actively taken magazine and tv jobs, covers, photo shoots and awards from publications dedicated to celebrating Spanish, Latin and Hispanic women. That’s cheating and stealing.

1. Her ‘Spanish’ persona adds a diversity angle to any podcast, job or interview she does. Falsely. That again takes away actual diversity opportunities from actual people. That’s cheating and stealing.

1. She has adopted a stereotype Latin sexy fiery ditzy personality that many actual Spanish/Latin/Hispanic women find offensive as a one-dimensional stereotype they are constantly fighting.

1. She gets confused about being Spanish, Latin or Hispanic in her own descriptions which perpetuates the all-things-vaguely-Hispanic—or-Spanish must be POC and dark haired and dark skinned. She dyes her hair and tans. A lot.

1. This isn’t a problem until she has Insta videos comparing (fake) skin tone with her daughter and talking about her Spanish heritage. Which she doesn’t have. Her American family on both sides is as old as the Mayflower and not Spanish before that, either. Her parents vacationed in spain and retired there in 2011 when she was in her late 20s. That’s setting up a whole load of lies for her own kids to untangle. It is also straying in to racial appropriation as a pretend POC. European Spaniards are not the same as Latin Americans in so many ways.

1. If she perpetuates that stereotype then is she ticking the Hispanic/Latin/Spanish box on forms? Fraud if so. Will her kids? They would expect to because that’s what they’ve been told they are! Why does it matter? It opens different opportunities and denies places/jobs/uni to people entitled to that support.

1. The fake accent is obvious on so many insta posts and TV interviews. That’s been seen as endearing and cute. Yet so many immigrants with genuine accents have been denied opportunities or respect in the US because of their accent. It’s white girl playing at exotic immigrant without any of the hardships and prejudices that those women have to endure.

1. She said she had 44 members of her Spanish relatives fly in for her wedding. She doesn’t have Spanish relatives. If you listen to the interview with Daniel Baldwin or read Ireland’s reply to her post they talk about her ‘chosen’ family in Spain. That suggests holiday friends from over the years. Or nannies she may have had as a child, snd their families. No need for anyone to know but why lie again??

Why she would be celebrated if she didn’t lie?

1. She speaks excellent Spanish snd is bringing her kids up with Spanish nannies and at language immersion schools to help them be as close to bilingual as possible. An amazing gift and opportunity. Each child has their own nanny. That’s dedication.

1. Her love of Spain is infectious. Celebrate it for what it is! Who cares if you give your kids Spanish names, a nod to your passion isn’t a problem. How many people use Irish names or Italian names or any bloody name they like?!

1. She says she had overcome all sorts of eating disorders. Popping out babies is her new obsession. As is exercising publicly and making out she looks after these babies alone. Why lie? Be proud of what you do and who you are. Her body is phenomenal. Celebrate it if you want!

1. If she abd her family have maintained great friendships with ex nannies from Spain then that’s a great testament to their characters and family values. Why not celebrate that instead of pretending they are blood?

Ok. So having covid over Christmas has given me far too much time to think about all this 😂

Absolutely correct All of this

@PurplePansy05

Not embellishing your exotic credentials.

She didn't embellish them, she's made them up. It's a network of lies.

I'm so fed up with those pseudo-virtuos posts about "attacking a woman". It doesn't matter who she is, what matters is that she's a fraud and she's been called out, that's it.

Her fraud literally "involves very specific lies or misleading information resulting in a direct benefit from a clear intention to make that pecuniary gain" and it is like any other fraud. It also causes invisible but real harm to real Hispanic and Spanish minorities in the US.

regularbutpanickingabit has it spot on, this is the best post summarising the whole thing, nothing more to add.

Magazine covers, articles and media work don't ever constitute a direct enough link to reach the standard of proof required for fraud. They are far too speculative and links based on celeb status and personality far too speculative. She's well enough known in Spain now to argue that she has enough connection with Span and Spanish culture, and as a fluent Spanish speaker, thars why she hit the work.

I personally dont think you should talk about fraud unless there's clear evidence of criminal wrongdoing likely to stand up in court.

Greenland I think you're completely missing the point.

I also suggest you look up the meaning of the term "fraud" which isn't exclusively used in the legal context, as per your narrow understanding.

I heard Alec Baldwin was into Latina women and had been rejected by Salma Hayek so Hilary decided to make herself exotic to attract him?

To be honest I think we should leave her alone. I don’t think she’s well. The constant need for attention, the yoga all over the place, Duggar levels of pregnancy and pretending to be from a country she went to on holiday thinking nobody would ever find out. Sounds like she has issues. Hopefully she’ll come off social media and lay low. People will get bored and move on.

It wasn’t cool to put on a Spanish accent, many women with genuine Spanish accents are abused daily and told to ‘speak English!!’ in America. It’s not some fun role play for them where they can switch back to being a rich white Bostonian when it suits.

Magazine covers, articles and media work don't ever constitute a direct enough link to reach the standard of proof required for fraud. They are far too speculative and links based on celeb status and personality far too speculative. She's well enough known in Spain now to argue that she has enough connection with Span and Spanish culture, and as a fluent Spanish speaker, thars why she hit the work.

Oh for goodness sake no ones going to sue her for fraud. But she has benefited from her little masquerade. WASP women aren’t given covers on Latina magazines.

She's well enough known in Spain now to argue that she has enough connection with Span and Spanish culture, and as a fluent Spanish speaker, thars why she hit the work.

I assume you have a peer-reviewed source for this?

I think the reason this is so fascinating (and I had never heard of her before this and I am fascinated) is because it is about identity. On one level you know your own identity snd no one can tell you who you are but we all have an idea of what it means to be Spanish be a woman etc.

On one hand you can identify as you like and it is not for anyone to tell you who you can and cannot be and we all reinvent ourselves to some extent but when you are seen to be taking from the group you identify with then it becomes a problem.

There was a similar story about a journalist for the Independent called Benjamin Butterworth. He is blond but was raised by his dad and stepmother who is black. The story about him being rejected by his mum is very sad and I am sure that he genuinely did consider his step mum to be his mum. However when he was a student he took on a NUS position reserved for black students and other students were very angry with him and made a petition asking him to resign he didn’t. They were cross that he was taking away something for students who we’re really black.

Incidentally I really wanted to call DS Leonardo and my grandparents are Italian but my ex said I wasn’t Italian enough to give him that name. I do know a lot of people who are third or fourth generation Scottish Italian who have Italian names.

@regularbutpanickingabit
👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻

@PurplePansy05

Greenland I think you're completely missing the point.

I also suggest you look up the meaning of the term "fraud" which isn't exclusively used in the legal context, as per your narrow understanding.

I'm fully aware of the definition of fraud, and the reason it's important to stick to the legal definition is because if you bandy it about, you can be threatened with defamation if you're unlucky.

Maybe not on here, but if you get into an argument eg with your local garage or retailer or similar it might lead to some eye opening responses.

It's misleading to use the word "fraud" when it doesnt meet the definition of fraud, so no, I don't need to brainwash myself on more nonsense on social media so I can become more stupid. Is this some kind of reverse-education? Don't stick to correct meanings for words, use makey-uppy versions instead?

@IcedPurple

She's well enough known in Spain now to argue that she has enough connection with Span and Spanish culture, and as a fluent Spanish speaker, thars why she hit the work.

I assume you have a peer-reviewed source for this?

I'm sure I could find some, if I was prepared to waste my life doing the bidding of someone I've never met on social media. Do you find that's something that usually works for you? Or do you just find yourself being told to piss off and do your own research?

I'll just leave this here:
www.google.com/amp/s/dictionary.cambridge.org/amp/english/fraud

Your tone and comments are ludicrous and yet again, you're spectacularly missing the point.

Amazed by all these people defending her, saying that those calling her out on her behaviour are either jealous or picking on the white woman.

This woman claimed to be something she’s not to sound sexy and bag herself a celebrity husband. She then used those claims to establish herself as a celebrity herself in Spain and other Latin American companies. I’m sure the only people who say that’s not harmful are white women themselves...

Other immigrants don’t get the option to pick and choose their accents. They don’t get to capitalise on their background to advance. Their background and race is more often than not used against them in different parts of life and they suffer various levels of racism whilst in the US (and UK). Here is a woman who tried to capitalise on that to make money, even going as far as claiming she suffered racial prejudices and racism herself. Yet calling out on the madness of that is picking on the (white) woman? Please!

She is a fraud who built her identity and likely her marriage on being a Spanish yoga instructor. She didn’t need to lie and claim she’s Spanish to say she appreciates Spanish culture and the language. As a white middle class white American she is privileged and she has enjoyed all the privileges that come with that, and that is an insult to those who have really had to risk their lives and struggle to have a fraction of the privilege she had at birth. And then she went and played the role of an immigrant because she spoke Spanish just so she can sound exotic? That is a slap in the face to real immigrants that many of you seem to be missing.

Do Spanish people find if offensive?

I do.
Because like other posters have said, she has taken away opportunities that were directed to Spanish people by lying.

Because as a Spanish person born to immigrant parents, I know how hard it is for your family to be accepted as Spanish, just because your grandparents live in another country. Mind you, this only tends to happen if you're working class. She has money, so that's not an issue

Because while the media say she's Spanish and people in Spain believe that, so many first-generation Spanish children are being subject to abuse and racism. Because they're 'dirty foreigners' from a poor country and their parents are poor. They'll never be Spanish in they eyes of the locals. Someone with money goes on TV, announces she's now Spanish, and we must applaud her? Wow, that was easy.

Because telling lies to the whole world and most importantly, your own kids, isn't on.

@regularbutpanickingabit explains it perfectly but for those who’ve missed it:

*The outrage is because she has made a (great) living out of being an ‘exotic’ Spanish woman who didn’t know pop culture because she didn’t have a tv for her Spanish-in-Spain upbringing until she came to NYC at 19. That she was born in Mallorca and lived her childhood there. That her mum is Spanish. That Spanish is her native language. That her skin and hair are dark because she is Spanish. That she deserves to bring a Spanish heritage to jobs and opportunities. All lies.

Why does that matter?

1. She has actively and pro-actively taken magazine and tv jobs, covers, photo shoots and awards from publications dedicated to celebrating Spanish, Latin and Hispanic women. That’s cheating and stealing.

1. Her ‘Spanish’ persona adds a diversity angle to any podcast, job or interview she does. Falsely. That again takes away actual diversity opportunities from actual people. That’s cheating and stealing.

1. She has adopted a stereotype Latin sexy fiery ditzy personality that many actual Spanish/Latin/Hispanic women find offensive as a one-dimensional stereotype they are constantly fighting.

1. She gets confused about being Spanish, Latin or Hispanic in her own descriptions which perpetuates the all-things-vaguely-Hispanic—or-Spanish must be POC and dark haired and dark skinned. She dyes her hair and tans. A lot.

1. This isn’t a problem until she has Insta videos comparing (fake) skin tone with her daughter and talking about her Spanish heritage. Which she doesn’t have. Her American family on both sides is as old as the Mayflower and not Spanish before that, either. Her parents vacationed in spain and retired there in 2011 when she was in her late 20s. That’s setting up a whole load of lies for her own kids to untangle. It is also straying in to racial appropriation as a pretend POC. European Spaniards are not the same as Latin Americans in so many ways.

1. If she perpetuates that stereotype then is she ticking the Hispanic/Latin/Spanish box on forms? Fraud if so. Will her kids? They would expect to because that’s what they’ve been told they are! Why does it matter? It opens different opportunities and denies places/jobs/uni to people entitled to that support.

1. The fake accent is obvious on so many insta posts and TV interviews. That’s been seen as endearing and cute. Yet so many immigrants with genuine accents have been denied opportunities or respect in the US because of their accent. It’s white girl playing at exotic immigrant without any of the hardships and prejudices that those women have to endure.

1. She said she had 44 members of her Spanish relatives fly in for her wedding. She doesn’t have Spanish relatives. If you listen to the interview with Daniel Baldwin or read Ireland’s reply to her post they talk about her ‘chosen’ family in Spain. That suggests holiday friends from over the years. Or nannies she may have had as a child, snd their families. No need for anyone to know but why lie again??

Why she would be celebrated if she didn’t lie?

1. She speaks excellent Spanish snd is bringing her kids up with Spanish nannies and at language immersion schools to help them be as close to bilingual as possible. An amazing gift and opportunity. Each child has their own nanny. That’s dedication.

1. Her love of Spain is infectious. Celebrate it for what it is! Who cares if you give your kids Spanish names, a nod to your passion isn’t a problem. How many people use Irish names or Italian names or any bloody name they like?!

1. She says she had overcome all sorts of eating disorders. Popping out babies is her new obsession. As is exercising publicly and making out she looks after these babies alone. Why lie? Be proud of what you do and who you are. Her body is phenomenal. Celebrate it if you want!

1. If she abd her family have maintained great friendships with ex nannies from Spain then that’s a great testament to their characters and family values. Why not celebrate that instead of pretending they are blood?

Ok. So having covid over Christmas has given me far too much time to think about all this 😂*

I'm sure I could find some, if I was prepared to waste my life doing the bidding of someone I've never met on social media

You're sure you could find peer-reviewed sources on a yoga teacher who married well?

Really?

Do you find that's something that usually works for you? Or do you just find yourself being told to piss off and do your own research?

Nah, I'm just mocking you for getting all patronising about how you're a uni prof who never uses Wiki because it's not peer-reviewed and therefore unsuitable for academic research. As if light gossip about an Instagram influencer is the stuff of Phd disserations.

So if Wiki isn't a sufficiently reliable source for you, as you made a point of telling us, it would seem reasonable to ask which academically sound sources you are basing your latest claim on.

Oh, and why are you being so aggressive in your defence of a woman who wouldn't give you a sun salutation for free?

I'm not sure she identifies as Spanish. I think it's just a little lie that got out of hands. She must have studied Spanish since a young age, probably had a Spanish speaking nanny, and maybe created a persona based around that, fake tan, dark hair etc..

Her husband might like Spanish and Latin women, so they went along with it. After years of pretending to be Spanish, giving interviews to magazines, and naming her kids Spanish names, she couldn't exactly say in an interview :

" BTW, I was born and brought up in Boston, and my parents moved to Mallorca in 2011." It would have looked beyond odd. So she just went on.

It happens all the time, people pretending to be from somewhere they are not, having important connections etc.. She's just married to someone famous so it all came up on social media.

Maybe she just wanted to look more "exotic" to the American public, you know some people don't actually separate Latinos from Spaniards, and Latinas are stereotyped. From her video there seems to be a general confusion about it.

@bambinaballerina

I'm not sure she identifies as Spanish. I think it's just a little lie that got out of hands. She must have studied Spanish since a young age, probably had a Spanish speaking nanny, and maybe created a persona based around that, fake tan, dark hair etc..

Her husband might like Spanish and Latin women, so they went along with it. After years of pretending to be Spanish, giving interviews to magazines, and naming her kids Spanish names, she couldn't exactly say in an interview :

" BTW, I was born and brought up in Boston, and my parents moved to Mallorca in 2011." It would have looked beyond odd. So she just went on.

It happens all the time, people pretending to be from somewhere they are not, having important connections etc.. She's just married to someone famous so it all came up on social media.

Maybe she just wanted to look more "exotic" to the American public, you know some people don't actually separate Latinos from Spaniards, and Latinas are stereotyped. From her video there seems to be a general confusion about it.

She said she was born in Mallorca.

@NotPrude

Amazed by all these people defending her, saying that those calling her out on her behaviour are either jealous or picking on the white woman.

This woman claimed to be something she’s not to sound sexy and bag herself a celebrity husband. She then used those claims to establish herself as a celebrity herself in Spain and other Latin American companies. I’m sure the only people who say that’s not harmful are white women themselves...

Other immigrants don’t get the option to pick and choose their accents. They don’t get to capitalise on their background to advance. Their background and race is more often than not used against them in different parts of life and they suffer various levels of racism whilst in the US (and UK). Here is a woman who tried to capitalise on that to make money, even going as far as claiming she suffered racial prejudices and racism herself. Yet calling out on the madness of that is picking on the (white) woman? Please!

She is a fraud who built her identity and likely her marriage on being a Spanish yoga instructor. She didn’t need to lie and claim she’s Spanish to say she appreciates Spanish culture and the language. As a white middle class white American she is privileged and she has enjoyed all the privileges that come with that, and that is an insult to those who have really had to risk their lives and struggle to have a fraction of the privilege she had at birth. And then she went and played the role of an immigrant because she spoke Spanish just so she can sound exotic? That is a slap in the face to real immigrants that many of you seem to be missing.

Exactly

Anyhoo it’s keeping us all entertained in the dog days of a shit year so thank you Hilaria

@IcedPurple

I'm sure I could find some, if I was prepared to waste my life doing the bidding of someone I've never met on social media

You're sure you could find peer-reviewed sources on a yoga teacher who married well?

Really?

Do you find that's something that usually works for you? Or do you just find yourself being told to piss off and do your own research?

Nah, I'm just mocking you for getting all patronising about how you're a uni prof who never uses Wiki because it's not peer-reviewed and therefore unsuitable for academic research. As if light gossip about an Instagram influencer is the stuff of Phd disserations.

So if Wiki isn't a sufficiently reliable source for you, as you made a point of telling us, it would seem reasonable to ask which academically sound sources you are basing your latest claim on.

Oh, and why are you being so aggressive in your defence of a woman who wouldn't give you a sun salutation for free?

It's disgusting to see people revelling in attacking someone else, it's gone quite beyond any light entertainment level of discussion and has just turned into a feeding frenzy at the zoo for some posters to try and impress each other on how they can tear down someone else.

Maybe I'm just sticking my head above the gunfire because I don't think a self indulgent bitchfest is an excuse for bullying someone? This media furore over this particular woman (when many others do much worse) is disgusting. Thats a real person, someone I'd expect people on mumsnet to have some sympathy for in the circumstances. She seems like a great mother and stepmother, and her children are going to read this some day.

Well done for self admittedly mocking me for having a job which requires an education beyond googling Wikipedia. And do tell me what a "university prof" is, because I'm not one.

Do you get off on trying to embarrass people you perceive as having done things you haven't in life?

She is a fraud who built her identity and likely her marriage on being a Spanish yoga instructor. She didn’t need to lie and claim she’s Spanish to say she appreciates Spanish culture and the language. As a white middle class white American she is privileged and she has enjoyed all the privileges that come with that, and that is an insult to those who have really had to risk their lives and struggle to have a fraction of the privilege she had at birth. And then she went and played the role of an immigrant because she spoke Spanish just so she can sound exotic? That is a slap in the face to real immigrants that many of you seem to be missing.

Yes, and the connotations of being a Spanish speaker are very different in the US. For us, Spain is mostly seen as a great country to enjoy sun, sea and sand. Whereas in the US, Spanish is associated with mostly poor Latin American immigrants, the largest ethnic minority in the US. And yes, I know Spain is not Mexico or Guatemala, but the fact is many won't bother to give it much thought.

Maybe I'm just sticking my head above the gunfire because I don't think a self indulgent bitchfest is an excuse for bullying someone? This media furore over this particular woman (when many others do much worse) is disgusting. Thats a real person, someone I'd expect people on mumsnet to have some sympathy for in the circumstances. She seems like a great mother and stepmother, and her children are going to read this some day.

This thread? I doubt it 🤣

Get a grip. She’s being teased for being a rather silly liar.

The world will move on. She will be fine.