Sassa Gurl reacts to bashing as White Castle calendar girl

MANILA, Philippines — Sassa Gurl did not expect to be bashed as White Castle calendar girl.

The online star was another historic first for the liquor brand, as Sassa Gurl who identifies as a trans woman, became the brand's first trans ambassador. This game-changing move came after tapping chef and YouTube star Ninong Ry as its first male calendar model for 2020.

The TikTok star, however, admitted to be surprised with the bashing after the revelation as this year's calendar girl. In the past, the calendar featured the likes of actresses Carmi Martin, Cristina Gonzalez and Roxanne Guinoo.  

"Actually, hindi kasi ever since noong nag-start ako talaga, ang pinaka-backbone ng following ko talaga is LGBTQ community," Sassa Gurl said in an exclusive interview with Philstar.com. 

Sassa Gurl rose to fame as a TikTok star who does parodies and skits mostly of high school days with a "kanal" humor as the comedian calls it. 

"Doon ko napatunayan na hindi kadalasan... Sabihin nating hindi pa masyadong tanggap nga or hindi talaga sobrang accepting pa ng community natin in regards sa mga LGBT content, LGBT representation. Aliwin mo lang sila. Aliwin lang natin sila. So ayun. Deadma," the TikToker said. 

Despite the bashing, Sassa Gurl said it was a good experience because modeling for the calendar was different from the comedian's usual fare. 

Sassa Gurl is doing relatively well among the growing number of social media influencers as the TikTok star joins the list of online personalities who have been tapped by brands for their campaigns. 

One of the comedian's recent collaborations was the taste test video with Erwan Heussaff for Grab's Indie Eats campaign. 

The campaign aims to help local food merchants by providing them a dedicated tile in the Grab app. Users can easily swipe through the hundreds of local businesses selling their favorite Filipino snacks and dishes like Halo-Halo, Sisig and Lugaw. The campaign also helps merchants upskill their online marketing skills through workshops and seminars. 

Sassa Gurl was pleasantly surprised to find chemistry with the restaurateur and content creator when they shot the 14-minute video. The video has since been viewed at more than 700,000 times and is generally liked by viewers. 

The TikTok comic also shared thoughts on the growing social media landscape. When asked if there are "don'ts" in starting out a channel or TikTok account, Sassa Gurl said that one should not limit oneself and be authentic as much as possible. 

"Well, tingin ko naman walang 'don'ts'. I think, jusko, ang dami ko na ngang na-post sa TikTok at sa kung saang-saang platforms na feeling ko illegal na nga e. Papasa na sa illegal.

"Wag lang sigurong sobrang harsh na alam mo 'yun, meron ka nang tinatapakang tao. Feeling ko sa panahon ngayon wala na masyadong don'ts e," the online sensation advised.  

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