Katie Piper fought back tears on Thursday after revealing she was the victim of vicious abuse from female trolls over her appearance at the National Television Awards.
The TV personality, 42, suffered facial burns and went blind in one eye after she was attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and accomplice Stefan Sylvestre in 2008.
Over the years she has had several reconstructive procedures to improve her appearance and on Tuesday she looked stunning in a figure-hugging black dress as she joined her fellow Loose Women stars at the bash where they were in with a chance of winning the Best Daytime award.
But in a new video, despite revealing she felt “really nice” that night, Katie told how she faced dozens of horrible messages targeting her appearance during a magazine interview.
As she sat in her car, Katie heartbreakingly said: ‘I know I’m not the prettiest’ as she reflected on the messages, while her supportive fans and friends flooded her with positive comments as they insisted she was ‘beautiful inside and out’.
Katie was visibly upset as she told her fans that after such a great start to her day, she was feeling down after receiving a lot of notifications on her phone following her red carpet interview with Women & Home magazine.
Katie Piper fought back tears on Thursday after revealing she was the victim of vicious abuse from female trolls over her appearance at the National Television Awards
In a new video, despite revealing she felt ‘really nice’ that night, Katie told how she faced dozens of awful messages targeting her appearance during a magazine interview
She explained: ‘The reactions went crazy and I thought “oh why?” and it’s just endless, like “Urgh, look at her, what happened to her face? Oh, she overdid it with the filler. Oh my God, why are we talking about the hair, the hair isn’t the problem! That face!” blah blah blah.
‘And you say: I’m a normal person, I’m a real person. I’m just trying to do my best here, to live my life, to be a woman, to be a mother, to be a daughter…’
Katie continued sadly, “I know I’m not pretty, I know I don’t look like you, I know I’m not the prettiest person on your Instagram and most of the time I don’t care.
“This is my life, this is the life God intended for me and I am living it to the fullest. But every now and then you have the feeling that not giving up is the wrong word, but just quitting everything and not putting yourself forward anymore.
“You just think, why are you doing this to strangers on the Internet?”
The star then opened up about how she made the ‘mistake’ of responding to the mean comments with Katie remarking ‘they’re all women!’.
She shared how she wondered why they “police women’s appearance,” noting that they were “harming” not just her, but “every woman who sees these comments.”
The activist continued her tirade, adding: ‘You’re telling people that if you don’t meet beauty standards it’s a problem and that you’re playing a role in creating a nightmare for all other women. This is your digital footprint, this is your legacy, this is what you are a part of.
The TV personality, 42, suffered facial burns and blindness in one eye after being attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and accomplice Stefan Sylvestre in 2008 (Katie pictured in 2009)
As she sat in her car, Katie heartbreakingly said: ‘I know I’m not the prettiest’ as she reflected on the messages, as her supportive fans and friends flooded her with positive comments
She shared how she wondered why they “police women’s appearance,” noting that they were “harming” not just her, but “every woman who sees these comments.”
The TV star’s passionate post received thousands of comments from her fans and showbiz friends who supported her and reminded her how beautiful she was
‘Would you support this if all these comments were sent to your colleagues and to your family? Be careful of the world you create for all of us. That’s all I have to say.’
Captioning her defiant post, Katie wrote: “I know who I am, and who I am not, but do you know who you are?”
The TV star’s passionate post received thousands of comments from her fans and showbiz friends who supported her and reminded her how beautiful she was.
Natalie Pinkham said: ‘It’s upsetting when women hurt women; as if the world isn’t strong enough. Thanks for this message today. I’m sorry you had to post it; but I’m also glad you did it. I support you and admire you enormously.’
Dianne Buswell said: ‘You are a superwoman and yes you are beautiful ❤️’
While Rachel Stevens wrote: ‘you are such an inspiration xxx.’
Linda Lusardi added, “Don’t take it into account. These people have nothing better to do. You are the most courageous beautiful woman I have ever met. ❤️.’
Dannii Minogue said: “Katie – you, your words, your kindness and your digital footprint, something to be proud of. In any case, take your time, but don’t let them take you lightly.’
Fellow Loose Women star Myleene Klass commented: “Katie. I was with you that night and I was overjoyed to be with you. Your company, your energy, your funny one-liners… and you just happened to look incredibly BEAUTIFUL. They don’t matter. They try. They just don’t do it x’
Laura Adlington said: ‘Keep going Katie. You are such a force for good and just know that this app is a much better place because you are on it. Sending all the love and hugs xxx
With Boy George adding: ‘You are beautiful ❤️and brave and inspiring.’
Meanwhile, Katie received many lovely comments from fans, including one who wrote: ‘This is SO HORRIBLE, I’m so sorry and you ARE beautiful ❤️ inside and out. These people have the problem, they come at it and they are jealous of you. The world is a difficult place to live in right now, they are suffering and taking it out on you. You are a bright shining star and you mean so much to so many.”
The TV presenter was lucky to survive her 2008 acid attack, but a painful road to recovery lay ahead to rebuild her face and her life – her injuries have required more than 400 operations since that day.
Since being thrust into the spotlight, Katie has used her career to promote body positivity and support burn survivors and disfigurement victims with her charitable foundation.
