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When 19-year-old Victoria Katei posted a selfie of her wearing no makeup, she had no idea what controversy was about to ignite on Twitter. The college student is a self-proclaimed makeup enthusiast who regularly posts selfies of her slaying everything from a glitter cut crease to a soft, daytime beat. But when Victoria posted a photo showing a side by side comparison of her being cute with makeup versus her still being cute without makeup, internet trolls decided to turn her fearless selfie into a cruel meme, shaming Victoria for looking ‘different’ without makeup.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcDtANqHiYT/?taken-by=saltygxd
https://twitter.com/__Lexini/status/935360957332717569
But Victoria appears to be unbothered by the negativity, using her internet fame to effortlessly clapback at trolls and defend women who use makeup as a tool of art.
Victoria spoke to Buzzfeed earlier this week about the Twitter storm, stating, “It is so common to see a woman bringing down another woman to make her feel better or to make those around her feel better when that’s not what needs to be happening at all.”
“On the outside,” she continued, “it might seem like a harmless tweet but when it reaches the plethora of people that my tweet reached, all of those negative comments could really have a negative effect on somebody.”
This isn’t the first time the internet has dragged women for wearing makeup. Trolls have also attacked Toronto makeup artist Alinna for wearing makeup and turned her photos into another cruel meme claiming that makeup is the reason why men and their fragile masculinities have trust issues.
But of course, makeup shaming isn’t limited to those special men taking the time out of their sad lives to turn no-makeup selfies into memes. Victoria also expressed disappointment at the self-righteous women who joined in to shame her.
And to the trolls attacking her change in complexion between the two photos, Victoria clapped back, stating “To the people who think I’m trying to be lightskin, they couldn’t be more wrong. I love my skin tone and I embrace who I am fully. There is no question that I am a brown-skinned black woman.”