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!

@Flaxmeadow

I don't really have an issue with people appropriating parts of their distant heritage or whatever really but am glad someone has called out Obama, not that I have any issue with him either but in the past there seems to have been a double standard with this appropriation thing, which is daft because it seems that all ethnic group do it

Yes. There was an interesting post on US social media about what ethnic groups do.

It was something like "Did your Italian.." (or whatever, I cant remember the exact nationality) "...Grandmother keep her sewing kit in a biscuit tin?"

There were loads of repiles saying "oh yes this is definitely an Italian (or whatever) thing". But as the thread grew it turned out it was also "definitely" an "African-American thing" or definitely an "Irish thing" or "Hungarian thing" and by the end of it, it seems everyone in the world's Grandmother had kept her sewing kit in a biscuit tin, even the English

But the thing is. The question should really have just been "Did your Grandmother keep her sewing kit in a biscuit tin". Without all the silly competitive splitting of uniform cultural practices into ethnicity

I know that's just a meaningless daft little thing on social media, and it all ended in amicable biscuit tin unity, but I think it's also a small example of cultural exceptionalism. Which can be divisive, damaging even, when taken to the extreme

So true! All the things our grandmas did that are hung on a stereotype turn out to be fairly universal!

And its only ever romantic olde world type cultures they get into especially if there are clans or tribes involved. Rrely do they claim to be Anglo American or German American (as most probably actually are)

Living her life on social media is one thing, and it wouldn't be my choice.

But I don't think she's a bad person. I initially followed her for the yoga tips after a difficult pregnancy. However, one of her children apparently has SN (as does mine) and she often posts about coping strategies, which i find useful. It isn't all photos of her in her knickers.

So no, I don't think she deserves this level of backlash, and I never will. It sounds like she's absolutely made a mistake and needs to rectify that somehow, but I think the level of publicity is too much.

She hasn't posted anything today which is very unusual - hopefully she's learnt that sharing so much isn't necessarily a great idea.

Not Amy Schumer's finest hour

Assuming she ever had one

From one of the many facebook groups devoted to hating this shit.

Flaxmeadow

I saw something similar on an American site involving grandmothers wearing house coats, and all the Latina and African Americans were accusing white women of cultural appropriation for wearing house coats as fashion (was this ever a thing?), because they were clearly a Latina thing based on their memories of their own grandmothers wearing them. Absolutely no understanding that it was a generational and class thing.

@WhenPidgeonsCry

I do feel that the backlash is completely out of proportion though

Has it? You said yourself, she lives her entire life on social media. That's her decision. The "backlash" seems quite proportionate to me, in that she's basically just getting the piss taken out of her all over social media. I had never heard of her before this and would never even know this whole thing had occurred were it not for this thread. I'm guessing the same is true of most people, who will just continue their lives blissfully unaware of her existence.

Yes, the piss taken out of her all over social media, now the piss taken out of her wedding. All going to do wonders for her self-esteem. Someone who's suffered from eating disorders in the past. Previously good relationship with her stepdaughter who spoke out for her, now social media bullies have kept going until Ireland's started to distance herself somewhat. Alec next? People going to keep going until both Hilaria's self-esteem and marriage are in tatters? All for sport because they're 'bored' under covid restrictions.

There are five little ones aged between 7 and 3 months caught in the middle of this.
Raking over their wedding when time has somewhat moved on and they're a family of seven now. This is going one way at the moment.

So no, I don't think she deserves this level of backlash, and I never will

That's what I mean.. What backlash? What has happened that isn't directly proportionate to how she chooses to live her life? If someone clamours for fame on social and tabloid media, then they surely expect to receive negative coverage on that same social and tabloid media when they do something stupid or wrong or just weird (like lie about being Spanish, for example). She's still a nobody to anybody not interested in celebrity gossip.

@user1471565182

Do you do this yourself by any chance, carefree? because the rest of the world finds it utterly ridiculous and offensive when Americans claim to be Irish and churn out stuff like Wild Mountain Thyme and do performative brit hating. I notice because of Outlander they're all finding a great grandma who had a scottish terrier once and so are now 'scottish' and investing in awful tartan.

No am not American not Irish.

People.would laugh if I claim to be either! I have a complicated heritage, can't be bothered to explain it here but certainly don't need to make anything up

If she's a nobody then surely she doesn't deserve this level of focus.

Anyway, I'm going to bed.

@Fizzydrinks123

Her family had the money and time to dedicate to a very privileged "hobby" of loving a culture you're not part of and living in homage to it.

The parents clearly love the Spanish lifestyle and talk passionately about the different way the Spanish take time to eat etc. and why they retired there.

However, Hilaira has taken it to a different level and I think it would irritate people seeing their heritage turned into a Disney rose-tinted themed lifestyle choice.

Spanish people are obviously white Europeans and as privileged as any other white European race.

Look at a Hispanic person and a Spanish person side by side. You can see the obvious difference.

Yes, the piss taken out of her all over social media, now the piss taken out of her wedding. All going to do wonders for her self-esteem

People who live their life through the tabloids and social media can't really complain if people start saying things they don't like. She could just not be a celebrity. It's very easy not to be, you know? Her husband is rich, she doesn't need the money.

@user1471565182

Do you do this yourself by any chance, carefree? because the rest of the world finds it utterly ridiculous and offensive when Americans claim to be Irish and churn out stuff like Wild Mountain Thyme and do performative brit hating. I notice because of Outlander they're all finding a great grandma who had a scottish terrier once and so are now 'scottish' and investing in awful tartan.

This is a thing? wow I never heard of it.

I do have a friend who had a Jewish ancestor like 6 generations ago. She says she is ethnically although not culturally part Jewish. obsessed with Israel . I don't think she is faking. Maybe a bit weird to claim it but nah, she isn't lying. But then again maybe if it were those from a coloured or ethnic minority backgrounds that would be considered offensive? I don't know.

If she's a nobody then surely she doesn't deserve this level of focus

That's what I'm saying! She's a nobody outside celebrity gossip circles and guess what? There is no focus on her outside celebrity gossip circles. There is no backlash among the general public, because they don't know who she is or care enough. There is backlash among the celeb fans that she cultivated and courted. Of her own choice.

I.e. an entirely proportionate backlash.

@WhenPidgeonsCry

Yes, the piss taken out of her all over social media, now the piss taken out of her wedding. All going to do wonders for her self-esteem

People who live their life through the tabloids and social media can't really complain if people start saying things they don't like. She could just not be a celebrity. It's very easy not to be, you know? Her husband is rich, she doesn't need the money.

Maybe she a bit like Lady Di. don't get me wrong I liked Lady Di and don't believe she deserves the hounding she got from the paparazzi. But she was never the shrinking violet type, something I actually admire her for!

But the choice to live your life on social media is driven by the desire for a large audience, it’s deluded to think you can accept all the adulation and good feedback and then turn that audience off when you don’t like the response.
And laughing at someone isn’t hate.

I don’t think the whole Spanish thing was to entrap Alec Baldwin, she called her yoga studio Yoga Vida years before she met him, I think she really does feel an affinity to the country.
But liking paella doesn’t make you Spanish, no matter how good your accent is. And if you do indulge in some cringeworthy cosplaying with flamenco fans at your wedding and the ‘ow you say in eenglish, surely you’ve got to expect mockery.
I haven’t seen any abuse of her, or any calls for any consequences, like losing jobs or anything. The talk of fraud is just to explain why she shouldn’t be pretending to be something she isn’t, no-one thinks she should be charged.
If she just came clean, and said yep, I got carried away, I’m an idiot for pretending I was Spanish, lesson learned, all the mockery would be over much quicker. Continuing with it and getting family members involved in defending her is just prolonging the agony of embarrassment. But again, her choice.

The problem is that she’s monetised it. She’s pretended to be a non-English speaking immigrant to the US - with all the disadvantages that implies - and she’s used that persona to get on the cover of Hola! twice. In both features they refer to her as a Spanish native throughout and she’s never corrected it. Rather, she’s gone on to further monetise off the back of it.

This isn’t some idiosyncratic affectation that’s made her look like a bit of a Wally. She’s a con artist. And she’s taken away opportunities from genuine Spanish women who deserve recognition.

For example, Latina.com named her as one of the top ten best dressed Latina women. Instead of correcting them (because even if she were Spanish she wouldn’t be Latina), she thanked them for the award on her own Twitter account.

Her relatives do live there and not just her parents and I expect she spent a lot of time there growing up.

The only relatives she has in Spain are her parents (moved to Spain after they retired nine years ago) and her brother (moved to Spain fairly recently). She originally claimed that something like "40 family members" had travelled from Spain to America to attend her wedding but has since clarified those guests were actually "found family" i.e. friends. It's really doubtful she spent any significant time in Spain at all growing up, other than the odd summer vacation.

"Look at a Hispanic person and a Spanish person side by side. You can see the obvious difference."

How ridiculous. There may be certain looks that are more typical to one region, but there are plenty of people from Latin America who could be Spanish and vice versa. I've met Spanish people who are so pale they could be Irish.

It's utterly ludicrous to start talking about race as though it has some clear definition and isn't a social construct.

@RUOKHon

The problem is that she’s monetised it. She’s pretended to be a non-English speaking immigrant to the US - with all the disadvantages that implies - and she’s used that persona to get on the cover of Hola! twice. In both features they refer to her as a Spanish native throughout and she’s never corrected it. Rather, she’s gone on to further monetise off the back of it.

This isn’t some idiosyncratic affectation that’s made her look like a bit of a Wally. She’s a con artist. And she’s taken away opportunities from genuine Spanish women who deserve recognition.

For example, Latina.com named her as one of the top ten best dressed Latina women. Instead of correcting them (because even if she were Spanish she wouldn’t be Latina), she thanked them for the award on her own Twitter account.

I can see how that could be problematic. I expect there will be a backlash from the Spanish or Hispanic community in response. They don't need us to fight their corner though!

@FunkBus

"Look at a Hispanic person and a Spanish person side by side. You can see the obvious difference."

How ridiculous. There may be certain looks that are more typical to one region, but there are plenty of people from Latin America who could be Spanish and vice versa. I've met Spanish people who are so pale they could be Irish.

It's utterly ludicrous to start talking about race as though it has some clear definition and isn't a social construct.

Maybe in some cases. But in terms of the way they are treated , Hispanic s tend to be discriminated against. Not so much Spanish. And that must be because the social construct or whatever (if i t is a social construct like a previous poster mentioned) is that one is white and privileged and one less so.

Spanish people are not oppressed in the U S, anymore than people from Germany or Hong Kong would be. Which is why I don't think the issue is appropriation as much as stupidity and deceit. Silly woman.

@Slapdasherie

But the choice to live your life on social media is driven by the desire for a large audience, it’s deluded to think you can accept all the adulation and good feedback and then turn that audience off when you don’t like the response. And laughing at someone isn’t hate.

I don’t think the whole Spanish thing was to entrap Alec Baldwin, she called her yoga studio Yoga Vida years before she met him, I think she really does feel an affinity to the country.
But liking paella doesn’t make you Spanish, no matter how good your accent is. And if you do indulge in some cringeworthy cosplaying with flamenco fans at your wedding and the ‘ow you say in eenglish, surely you’ve got to expect mockery.
I haven’t seen any abuse of her, or any calls for any consequences, like losing jobs or anything. The talk of fraud is just to explain why she shouldn’t be pretending to be something she isn’t, no-one thinks she should be charged.
If she just came clean, and said yep, I got carried away, I’m an idiot for pretending I was Spanish, lesson learned, all the mockery would be over much quicker. Continuing with it and getting family members involved in defending her is just prolonging the agony of embarrassment. But again, her choice.

Totally agree with this. People are bemused. They're having a bit of a laugh at her expense, but no one is threatening her or anything like that.

If you make your career on social media, you must realise that it is a harsh world. People are desperate to bring others down, especially people who they see as being a bit vacuous. She made her living off of being skinny, attractive and married to someone rich. There are millions of people lining up to take her place, she doesn't have any kind of USP or any reason for people to remain loyal to her. This is the problem with social media imo. If you're a fan of an actor or a musician, even if they act like a dick, you can still appreciate their films or their music. If you are a fan of someone on social media, what is left when they turn out to be a bit of a spanner (or a spannerita)? Nothing. No reason to follow them or continue being a fan or anything.

"Maybe in some cases. But in terms of the way they are treated , Hispanic s tend to be discriminated against. Not so much Spanish. And that must be because the social construct or whatever (if i t is a social construct like a previous poster mentioned) is that one is white and privileged and one less so.

Spanish people are not oppressed in the U S, anymore than people from Germany or Hong Kong would be. Which is why I don't think the issue is appropriation as much as stupidity and deceit. Silly woman."

But if you look at the comments coming from the US on this, it's very obvious that they don't really make a distinction so I'm not sure how true that is. Also not sure that someone from Hong Kong wouldn't be discriminated against - sure they might have more money/status than many mainland Chinese people do, but the average American doesn't make a big distinction.

"If she's a nobody then surely she doesn't deserve this level of focus.

Anyway, I'm going to bed."

What level of focus? Apart from the Daily Mail and here, I haven't seen that much about it.

The thing with the internet is that you can choose what interests you to read. If you think there is too much being written about her, click on something else.

@FunkBus

"Maybe in some cases. But in terms of the way they are treated , Hispanic s tend to be discriminated against. Not so much Spanish. And that must be because the social construct or whatever (if i t is a social construct like a previous poster mentioned) is that one is white and privileged and one less so.

Spanish people are not oppressed in the U S, anymore than people from Germany or Hong Kong would be. Which is why I don't think the issue is appropriation as much as stupidity and deceit. Silly woman."

But if you look at the comments coming from the US on this, it's very obvious that they don't really make a distinction so I'm not sure how true that is. Also not sure that someone from Hong Kong wouldn't be discriminated against - sure they might have more money/status than many mainland Chinese people do, but the average American doesn't make a big distinction.

You may be right. I don't know enough about US culture to comment. I would say that in the UK, a German or Hong Kong native may face xenophobia or incidental racism but am not sure society would be deeply stacked against them the way it would be against blacks or Hispanics in the U S. But I could be wrong

Maybe because we are all so ethnically mixed here in the UK anyway we see race differently. I am shocked when people class Roma or East Europeans as people of colour. Yes, the English Romany did come from India originally but that was like 14th century so there is very little "colour" in most of them. I would say they face discrimination though. Maybe they suffer cultural appropriation but I can't think of any examples.

As for other white minorities in the UK, yeah I can see they might have prejudice but again, I can't think of one example of cultural appropriation apart from May be the St Patrick's day or Scottish terrier thing a previous poster mentioned