Panamanian model and influencer Gracie Bon has come under fire after sharing photos of herself posing among the ruins left by a powerful earthquake in Panama, with critics accusing her of using the disaster as a photo opportunity.
Bon maintains that she was trying to raise awareness about the devastation and mobilise support for affected families, but her decision to feature in the images has drawn criticism from social media users.
The influencer shared a six-photo Instagram post with her approximately 11.9 million followers. The pictures showed her dressed in white among broken bricks, damaged homes, destroyed beds and other debris left by the earthquake.
Her caption read: “The reality of my country ? after the earthquake, we have to remember that the material is recovered, but life is priceless.”
The post attracted about 150,000 likes within 24 hours, but also drew thousands of angry comments from users who argued that the focus should have been on the families who lost their homes rather than Bon herself.
One commenter claimed that the damaged house featured in the photos belonged to their grandmother and alleged that the family had not given permission for the pictures to be taken. The claim further fuelled the backlash, raising questions about privacy and respect for disaster victims.
The controversy follows a powerful earthquake that struck Panama on Friday, October 9, 2026. According to Yahoo News, the quake damaged buildings, roads, schools and bridges, particularly in central and coastal areas.
At least 27 people were injured, while authorities reported no confirmed deaths or missing persons at the time. More than 100 aftershocks followed the main tremor, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of coastal residents as emergency teams assessed the damage.
Panama’s National Civil Protection System later reported that 2,164 families had suffered damage to their homes, including 506 families whose homes were completely destroyed. President José Raúl Mulino declared a national state of emergency.
Bon has since rejected claims that she was conducting a photoshoot or seeking to profit from the tragedy.
In a video and Instagram statement, she said she had travelled to affected rural communities to donate supplies with her own money and identify families she could help rebuild their homes.
“I’m not posing, I’m simply appearing in the photo on MY post,” she said. “If I hadn’t appeared in the photos, would they have been more acceptable to you?”
Bon explained that she chose to feature in the pictures because her posts typically reach more people than images showing damaged buildings alone.
“I just chose a picture where I’m in it instead of one where I’m not, because I know it’ll get more reach and attention from my followers and I can help rebuild a house,” she said.
She also criticised local media coverage, arguing that reports had failed to capture the full extent of the devastation in rural communities.
“All the news in my country were showing a perfect city after an 8.0 earthquake, but the reality was other for the countryside,” she wrote.
She added: “There are people who get more outraged by a photo than by seeing families lose everything.”
Despite the backlash, Bon maintains that she was not monetising the disaster. She says her intention was to highlight the destruction in areas outside the cities and use her social media reach to encourage support for families who lost their homes.