MANILA—Vicki Belo on Thursday came to the defense of Julia Barretto over the latter's Instagram photo that showed her outfit at home during the coronavirus lockdown.

The actress wore a white shirt and sweatpants in the April 20 selfie, which drew comments noticing how she appeared to be braless.

In her own post more than week later, Belo addressed comments which were supposedly critical of Barretto.

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A post shared by Julia (@juliabarretto) on Apr 20, 2020 at 6:20am PDT

The celebrity doctor wrote: "[Barretto's] post got some negative comments when she posted a photo of her lounging at home braless. I think Julia is right."

Drawing from her medical background, Belo then mentioned the benefits of going braless.

"Sometimes, it's better not to wear a bra if you're just lounging around, especially if your breasts are not over a B cup or are not sagging," she said.

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A post shared by Belo Medical Group (@belobeauty) on Feb 6, 2020 at 2:38am PST

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A post shared by Vicki Belo, M.D. (@victoria_belo) on Apr 29, 2020 at 10:46pm PDT

"Not wearing a bra allows for better blood circulation especially in the lung and breast area. Secondly, bra straps can be pressing on the area between the shoulder and the neck leading to neck pain," Belo wrote.

She ended her message with the hashtag, #LetTheBreastsBreathe.

Barretto, 23, has been candid about her personal preference not to wear a bra, citing her breast size. Notably, in January 2019, her tweet about opting for nipple tapes went viral, with women lauding her message about body positivity.