When Ashley VanPevenage had an allergic reaction to benzoyl, and it caused her acne to flare up, she turned to a makeup artist friend for help.
The efforts of @MakeupByDreigh to help mask her skin where amazing, and Dreigh posted the before-and-after photos to her Instagram.
VanPevenage’s face went viral, but not in an entirely good way.
While Dreigh’s work was praised by many commenters, others used the photos as an opening to mock VanPevenage with a plethora of nasty memes.
“The reason why you gotta take a bitch swimming on the first date,” one Twitter user wrote, while another added, “This is why I have trust issues.”
Eight months later, VanPevenage is finally speaking out.
“I used to be entertained by many memes,” Ashley says on YouTube. But when it’s actually you and you’re dealing with all the harsh comments?”
“It’s a whole different story,” VanPevenage lamented.
“They’re very disturbing and hurtful,” she added. “After this picture was posted and I read all the comments, I lost all my confidence.”
“But I’ve realized that people’s opinions don’t matter. Everyone should feel beautiful in their natural skin and it doesn’t matter what’s on the outside.”
“The only thing that matters is who you really are.”
VanPevenage was applauded for her YouTube response, with commenters calling her “beautiful” and telling her to “keep [her] head up.”
Hopefully, she will heed exactly that advice.
