Sophia Culpo’s post on ‘beating Asian genes’ sparks serious backlash: ‘Zero intelligence’

Sophia Culpo faces backlash for a now-deleted TikTok video that many deemed racist.

Published on: May 20, 2025, 09:32:14 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Sophia Culpo, the younger sister of former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo, is facing online backlash after posting a TikTok video in early May 2025 that many are calling racist. In the since-deleted clip, Sophia can be seen holding her newborn niece and making comments that have drawn sharp criticism across social media.

Sophia Culpo battles racism allegations after TikTok post on niece (Instagram/@sophiaculpo)

What did she say?

The caption of the video read: "When the Culpo genes beat out the Asian genes." Sophia followed that with, "Say hi to my baby niece Lila!! She looks EXACTLY like my brother, even though she's Filipino."

The baby is the second child of Sophia’s older brother, Pete Culpo, and his wife, Katie Trainor, who is Filipino.

Sophia Culpo being tone deaf as usual
byu/Professional_h8ter inNYCinfluencersnark

Although the post was removed shortly after it went live, screenshots quickly circulated online. Many TikTok users used the green-screen feature to share their reactions, calling attention to what they viewed as an offensive and tone-deaf statement.

Who is Sophia Culpo?

Sophia Culpo is a model, influencer, and reality TV star, known partly for her presence on social media and as one of the Culpo siblings. The family has a significant following, especially after Olivia Culpo’s rise to fame following her Miss Universe win and reality TV appearances.

She began modeling during her college years, sharing her work on social media. She has also appeared in Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question and participated in the 49th Annual People's Choice Awards in 2024.

Public backlash over TikTok post

Many TikTok users and commenters called Sophia’s caption “insane,” “racist,” and “deeply out of touch.”

Reactions were similar on Reddit, where her now-deleted post was widely panned.

“Zero intelligence, zero self-awareness. There’s something very off with Sophia… I’m not sure how you could be so dumb/disconnected from reality to say something like that in 2025. The girl is just braindead, honestly,” wrote one person.

“I would have become fully unhinged if I saw my sister in law post this about my baby,” another person declared.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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