Most memes come and go. But, some are destined for greater things. As is the case for Kim Chiu’s little Facebook Live blunder. It began with a seemingly out-of-nowhere comparison of the law with classrooms, and has included a chart-topping single and a charity t-shirt.

Here is a full timeline of the events surrounding Chiu’s Bawal Lumabas saga (because you’d be lying if you said you don’t find the whole thing amusing).

May 8

It all started when Kim Chiu made a confusing comparison of the law and the ABS-CBN shutdown to classroom dynamics during a Facebook Live session with Laban, Kapamilya! The actress said: “Sa classroom may batas, bawal lumabas, oh bawal lumabas. Pero ‘pag sinabi, ‘pag nag-comply ka na bawal na lumabas pero may ginawa ka sa pinagbabawal nila, inayos mo ‘yong law ng classroom niyo at sinumbit mo ulit ay pwede na pala ikaw lumabas.” Naturally, the internet took that little statement and made it it’s own with jokes, memes, and tweets.
The next day, the actress addressed the whole kerfuffle on Instagram by saying she had let her emotions get the best of her while making fun of herself at the same time. “Sa sinabi tungkol sa ‘classroom’, nung binasa ko, hindi ko din naintindihan,” she said. Of course, by the natural rule of progression of internet memes, the statement was remixed on YouTube days later.

More than a week after Chiu’s Facebook Live, the statement snowballed into a massive deal. Chiu said she avoided social media during this time as she felt down. People were writing open letters to the actress, “Law of Classroom” had become a thing, and a TikTok challenge was also born.

 

May 18

Chiu then turned things around as she announced a YouTube video on May 18. In the video “Bawal Lumabas (Ilabas Na Natin ‘To feat. Adrian and DJ Squammy),” made tons of references to classrooms and classmates—effectively turning the situation around to her advantage. But what really cemented this fact was the actress’ release of a Bawal Lumabas single and lyric video.

May 25-28

By May 25, the song had over 3 million views. The single also entered iTunes Philippines’ list of top songs. But, Chiu didn’t stop there. From a little blunder to the object of bullying, Bawal Lumabas has come full circle to be merch-ified for a cause. “Proceeds of this limited edition merch will be donated for charity (food packages),” Chiu wrote on Instagram. The actress has also partnered with Angel Locsin’s mass testing project in the process.