Olivia Jade calls out social media's 'impossible' beauty standards: 'This is not normal and it's not reality'
Olivia Jade Giannulli is calling out the pressure that social media puts on young women to look perfect.
In an Instagram Story titled “INSTA VS REALITY,” the beauty influencer, 21, posted a side-by-side selfie of her face, detailing the effects of filters and digital enhancements to create a flawless image.
“There is nothing wrong with using these filters to smooth ur skin or enhance your features — everyone should do whatever [the f***] they want to their own pics,” wrote Olivia Jade, sharing a heavily filtered shot of her face.
She continued by expressing her wishes that young women understand that the perception of beauty that social media creates isn’t possible to achieve in real life.
“BUT I do truly hope all the young girls on [Instagram] know that this is not normal and it’s not reality. seriously no one is born looking like this & u don’t need to compare urself to impossible standards!! you are beautiful without the effects also!!” she wrote, along with a second, still-stunning selfie where the heavy filters have been removed, embracing her natural freckles.
Just last week, Olivia Jade appeared on Red Table Talk to give her first interview addressing the college admissions bribery scandal for which her parents, Full House actress Lori Loughlin and designer Mossimo Giannulli, are currently serving prison time.
But while the young influencer asked to appear on RTT, her presence was not welcomed by all. Adrienne Banfield-Jones, also known as “Gammy,” said she didn’t want Olivia Jade present on the chat show, which also features Jada Pinkett Smith and Willow Smith. Her perspective was echoed by many Black women.
"I fought tooth and nail," Gammy said. "Her being here is the epitome of white privilege.”
Related: Lori Loughlin’s daughter breaks silence on college admissions fraud
When discussing her privilege, Olivia Jade detailed how clueless she previously was about her role in the college admissions scandal, which was used to get her and sister Isabella Rose into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, and her existence in general.
"A huge part of having privilege is not knowing you have privilege," she admitted. "So when it was happening, it didn't feel wrong."
She also made a point to add that she’s “not trying to victimize herself,” and said that her family doesn’t “deserve pity.” Now that she’s able to speak on the topic, she hopes to move forward. But that doesn’t mean the upcoming holidays won’t be a challenge, since both her parents are currently serving their sentences in prison. Olivia Jade said she hasn’t been able to speak to her parents, and sources told People it’s likely she won’t be able to see them for Christmas, either.
"It's going to be an even harder Christmas, but it's also time that she can focus on her own life," the source said. "The girls can't rely on their parents to 'fix' things anymore."
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