Bella Thorne accused of 'romanticizing' domestic abuse after posting Halloween makeup photos with busted lip, bruised face
22-year-old actress Bella Thorne had taken to Instagram to share images of her Halloween makeup. However, what was according to her a mere Halloween look, ended up upsetting hundreds of her fans.
The three photographs she shared appear to show she has a busted lip, a bruised eye and an overall facial discolouration. She captioned the photograph, "Hire me for your Halloween makeup I got u boo 🔪🔪🔪 😂😂😂."
The actress was immediately called out for the brazen post. "Why is glamorizing being physically abused culturally appropriate during Halloween?" one fan asked. "Are you f****ng kidding me? Note how much this looks like physical abuse?! That people ACTUALLY go through? You should be ashamed," said another.
"Most definitely not Halloween makeup, full-blown romanticism of domestic violence," noted a fan.
Thorne's followers also noted how the images could have psychological effects on those who have survived physical abuse or are going through it. "I just find this post slightly triggering and surprising as she is a strong spokeswoman against abuse and such."
The actor and director was accused of crossing a line with her attempt at a Halloween look. "I feel this is too close to physical abuse, you're crossing a fine line here."
Following the backlash, she went for a much less controversial and damaging look—a revealing Girl Scouts uniform.
She hasn't publicly addressed the image.
This tone-deafness is not new for celebrities. Earlier this year in June, 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' star Kylie Jenner threw a 'The Handmaid's Tale'-themed birthday party for BFF Anastasia 'Stassie' Karanikolaou complete with a set, Handmaids costumes, servant-class 'Marthas' and themed cocktails. Her followers had called her out for not understanding the gravity of women's rights violations.
Is it too much to expect stars to take cognizance of what counts as acceptable and what doesn't?