People Who Troll Women For Not Wearing Makeup Desperately Need A Hobby

Alicia Keys is sticking to her #NoMakeupMovement, dammit

Singer and personal hero Alicia Keys is being criticized for not wearing makeup to the VMAs because some people have too much damn time. Let’s be clear; the 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter didn’t say people should never wear makeup or even condemn those who do. She simply went to an award show with her gorgeous, natural face showing.

Months ago, Keys penned a personal essay for Lenny, Lena Dunham’s newsletter, in which she talks about her frustrations with the pressure on women to look perfect at all times. “‘Cause I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing,” she shared. And she’s stayed true to her word with countless appearances and photo shoots sans makeup. A celebrity endorsing the #nomakeupmovement – we should all be celebrating. Sadly, that’s not the case. Here’s a sampling of the nasty comments shared online.

One guy compiled several of the nasty comments and shared them on Twitter.

Talk about missing the point. Keys has been trying to free women from the pressure society puts on us to always be done up, and these ladies (and a few fellas) were there to say, “nope, natural isn’t good enough.” In her post months ago Keys explained her decision saying, “One of the many things I was tired of was the constant judgment of women. The constant stereotyping through every medium that makes us feel like being a normal size is not normal, and heaven forbid if you’re plus-size. Or the constant message that being sexy means being naked.”

When we covered her decision to go makeup free several women were quick to overreact online and take her body-positivity campaign as a personal attack. “I don’t want to apologize for wearing lipstick!” one person wrote despite no one asking for her or anyone else to apologize. Another reader said, “Should women be shamed then for wearing attractive clothing?” The make-up free campaign was never meant to shame anyone, and if that’s what you got from it, then you clearly didn’t read Keys’ words (or ours) on the topic. Thankfully plenty of people get it and chimed in to defend Keys look from Sunday night.

There’s always pressure on us ladies to appear perfect, and it’s even more intense for celebrities who are expected to appear flawless at all times. Why not say screw it and show the world our fresh faces? According to Keys, there’s nothing better. She explained, “I swear it is the strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful that I have ever felt.” The singer even went as far to clarify her stance for the haters online.