Panamanian influencer and adult content creator Gracie Bon, whose full name is Gracie Bonilla, faced widespread criticism on social media after posting photos of herself standing amid rubble from the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Panama on October 9, 2026.
The images, shared on her Instagram account where she has roughly 12 million followers, show Bon posed in white clothing among bricks, broken bed frames and the remains of damaged structures. Critics accused her of prioritizing online attention and her OnlyFans career over the hardship faced by those affected by the disaster.
Bon, born February 4, 1997, in Panama and raised in the RĂo Abajo area of Panama City, built her public profile as a plus-size model, body-positivity advocate and Fashion Nova ambassador. She also creates adult content and has spoken about her earlier career as an industrial and systems engineer.
The earthquake hit at 12:56 p.m. local time with an epicenter near Tonosà on the Azuero Peninsula in southern Panama, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It caused structural damage across multiple provinces, including partial collapses of hotels, churches and government buildings in areas such as Penonomé in Coclé province. Authorities reported at least 27 people injured, hundreds of buildings affected and no deaths in initial tallies. Aftershocks continued, some exceeding magnitude 6.
In the days after the quake, Bon posted photos from damaged sites and said she had gone to make donations. She wrote that appearing in the images increased their reach compared with posting only the destruction. “No estoy posando, simplemente aparezco en la foto de MI post,” she stated in responses to criticism. She added that she was not monetizing the situation and wanted to show “cómo está Panamá realmente.”
Bon further told critics, “Ustedes tienen un corazón dañado que prefieren insultar y no ayudar a la causa,” and said she would continue her contributions while ignoring the backlash. She had earlier offered her social media platforms to help spread information and coordinate aid in the immediate aftermath of the tremor.
Online reactions mixed recognition of her reported donations with objections to the aesthetic framing of the rubble. Some users argued that highlighting the damage was useful given her large audience, while others said using the destroyed sites as a backdrop lacked sensitivity toward families still dealing with losses and displacement.
Panamanian civil protection authorities continued assessing damage and providing support in the affected provinces as the debate over Bon’s posts circulated on platforms including Instagram and X.
