Model's Stunning Before & After Beauty Video Shows Just How Cruel People Can Be
The transformation is stunning — but so is the reality of how mean people can be.
youtube Em Ford is a London-based beauty blogger and former model, and it would be easy to assume that, because she's a former model, she’s never had to deal with mean comments or bullying. But that's incorrect.
In 2015, Ford began posting pictures of herself, without makeup, on her various social media accounts.
Not only wasn't she wearing makeup, she was also showing to the world that she struggles with acne.
She's as naked as you can get without taking your clothes off.
But, unfortunately, when you share on social media, you're vulnerable to people's cruelty. And in Ford’s case, the comments she received were brutal.
So, she decided to do something about ending this cyber bullying — in 2015, she made a film about it called, "You Look Disgusting."
On her website, Ford says, "I wanted to create a film that showed how social media can set unrealistic expectations on both women and men.
One challenge many face today is that, as a society, we're so used to seeing false images of perfection, and comparing ourselves to unrealistic beauty standards that it can be hard to remember the most important thing: you are beautiful."
Ford's film is devastating. When it starts off, her bare face inspires these comments: "gross," "ugly," "horrible," and "you look disgusting."
She then starts to apply makeup, and when she's fully made-up, she receives these comments: "you look beautiful," and "you're so pretty."
You'd think the haters would be satisfied with her face done up; instead, she receives further-deflating comments, such as: "This is false advertising," and "This is why I have trust issues," proving that if someone wants to be critical and mean, they don't even need a reason.
Ford says that her message is clear: "You are beautiful — no matter how flawed you feel, no matter how upset you may be about the way you look, or how hard you find it to make friends, or be confident. Believe in yourself, and never let anyone tell you you're not beautiful, not even yourself."
After Ford sent out the video, the anti-bullying hashtag #YouLookDisgusting started to trend on social media.
In a 2019 interview, Ford revealed that she developed acne as an adult when she was 24. She became a beauty blogger in 2014 after losing her job.
She said, "At first, I tried to conceal my new blemishes with heavy make-up. Eventually, I found the effort too stressful, and besides, hiding something so natural felt wrong. I wondered how many other people felt the same as me, and I decided I had to share my journey with others who were going through or had been through the same thing."
She went on to explain her video:
"I filmed ‘You Look Disgusting’ in June 2015, after I had decided to go barefaced on Instagram and I started receiving thousands of hateful and negative comments every day. The video made public all the horrendous things people would say to me, and interestingly, all the lovely comments I would receive when I wore make-up.
The beauty industry is changing positively, but not as quickly or progressively as I would like. Last year I started a project called Redefine Pretty, which looked at women’s relationship with their appearance and what society defines as ‘pretty’.
RELATED: YouTuber Paints Half Her Face To Show The Powerful Effects Of Makeup
The short film I created featured a range of women talking about how they perceive themselves. From visible skin conditions such as acne, scarring, and birthmarks, it was a heartbreakingly real picture of how ‘beauty’ is measured."
She concluded her interview with an uplifting message for all women:
"My advice to girls or women who are experiencing real-life or social media bullying, please believe me when I tell you it’s not you — it’s them. If someone is sending or leaving abuse online, they usually have personal challenges going on in their life and they are unleashing their frustrations on an available outlet.
I want to empower all girls and women with the confidence to live their lives without the feeling of being judged for their appearance. I hope you will join me in living by the motto: ‘True beauty comes from the inside. I promise you’ll be a lot happier if you do."
The video is currently up to almost 33 million views. We applaud Ford for taking a stand.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer and performer. She's had articles in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Woman's Day. Visit her website.