Is Shay Mitchell ashamed of her Filipino heritage?

Shay Mitchell is the talk of Filipino internet as a clip of the actress talking about her heritage made the rounds online.

On TikTok, HBO Max uploaded a clip of Shay, where the actress said "My father is Irish and my mom is Spanish" resulting in an uproar among Filipino netizens in the comment section.

"Shay Mitchell is the daughter of Precious Garcia and Mark Mitchell. Her father is of Scottish and Irish descent. Her mother is from the province of Pampanga in the Philippines," one netizen wrote, quoting a Google result.

"Umm what? All the OG Shay fans remember the Proud Filipina Era YouTube videos and interviews," said another, while yet another Pinoy netizen reminded her, "Girl your mom is Filipino."

"Filipino when needed," still another said.

As of writing, Shay's clip has been liked nearly 17K times and has generated more than 1500 comments.

Shay's words are a tad jarring. In a 2014 report, Shay said her mother is Filipina, and that she is second cousins with Lea Salonga. 

In a 2016 issue of Self magazine meanwhile, Shay recalled how she was bullied for her mixed heritage and being "ostracized by other girls."

"Instead of going to the cafeteria, I'd say, 'Why deal with this?' and I'd eat in a bathroom stall. At least when I left school for the day, it stopped," she told Self magazine back then. 

Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with PopSugar, the actress admitted having struggled with her Filipina identity when she was younger.

"I didn't want to look like myself," Shay said, referring to her days as a teen when she wanted to have blonde hair and light skin.

When Shay visited the Philippines to promote "You" with Penn Badgley back in 2019, she made sure to extend her stay and visit our world-famous beaches.

"Couldn’t go to the Philippines without visiting the islands," Shay wrote in her Instagram post back then.

Shay Mitchell is best known for her role in "Pretty Little Liars." 

@streamonmax Spicy Shay. #ThirstWithShayMitchell #ShayMitchell ? original sound - Max

— LA, GMA Integrated News