Little did anyone know that when Bretman Rock was accepting his award as “Beauty Influence of the Year” during the 2019 People’s Choice Awards last week, his heart was breaking.
The day after (Nov.11), on social media, Rock, one of the “influencer” dedicated his award to his late father, who had died days earlier in the Philippines.
“I love you so much and I will always be grateful for allowing me to express myself and defended me whenever haters said anything. This one is for you Papa. I hope I make you the proudest,” said Bretman.
He then added: “I remember I would always watch my grandma put on makeup for church and that’s when I fell Involve with makeup and vanity.. ugh I’m just lost for words. thank you guys [sic].”
Rock was up against major influencers like Jeffrey Star, James Charles, Desi Perkins, Nikki de Jager (NikkiTutorials), Rachel Levin (RCL Beauty), Nikita Dragun and Jackie Aina.
Like other AAPI influencers, social media has provided a platform for them to reach out to the public and for fans to find them — thus, bypassing industry gatekeepers and bias against unknowns without the proper “connections.” Lilly Singh, who now hosts a late night talk show on NBC is perhaps the best known breakout stars from social media.
Rock began creating Youtube videos in 2015 and became viral on Instagram and from former short-form video app Vine prior to that.
Bretman Rock is one of the hottest celebrities on the Internet. The makeup artist and YouTube star boasts a legion of fans (he has 13.5 million followers on Instagram and 3.6 million on Twitter, as of August 2019) who can’t get enough of his beauty videos that are all branded with his personal comedic flair.
Bretman Rock is his real name but his full name is Bretman Rock Sacayanan. “My dad was obsessed with wrestlers, and he liked Bret Hart and The Rock, so that’s how he got Bretman Rock,” Rock told KITV.
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