Doja Cat draws backlash after explaining why she named single 'Balut' after Filipino delicacy

Filipino fans have called out Doja Cat for misrepresenting their culture after she inaccurately described the Filipino delicacy that inspired the title of her single, "Balut," from her new album "Scarlet."

Many in the Filipino community have called out rapper Doja Cat for misrepresenting their culture after she inaccurately described the Filipino delicacy that inspired the title of her latest single. 

Fans slammed her after she released the single, “Balut,” on Sept. 15 and explained in an Instagram story that she named it after the dish because “it signifies a bird that’s being eaten alive.” 

“It’s a metaphor for Twitter stans [obsessive fans] and the death of Twitter toxicity. The beginning of ‘X’ and the end of ‘tweets,’” Doja Cat, who released her new album, “Scarlet,” on Friday, continued. She didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

Doja Cat's, "Balut."Doja Cat via YouTubeSocial media users criticized the erroneous description of the dish — a cooked fertilized duck egg that’s eaten from the shell and isn’t a live animal —  as “ignorant,” with many saying her words could prop up more culturally or racially insensitive interpretations of Filipino cuisine. 

“Filipinos see it as a delicacy. Why is that not being conveyed in that way?” said Tony DelaRosa, a Filipino American race scholar and the author of “Teaching the Invisible Race.” “We should uphold it.”