Model Breaks Silence Following ‘Horrible’ Racist Comments About Her Lips
The Ugandan model is taking on trolls. (Photo: Instagram.com/aamito_lagum)
Aamito Lagum, 23, had the New York Fashion Week that models dream of, walking in five popular shows (including Kanye’s Yeezy blowout) and closing for Zac Posen, the New York Times reports. But things took a turn for the native Ugandan when MAC posted a picture of her lips to its Instagram feed last Thursday.
Photo: Instagram.com/maccosmetics
The picture, taken backstage at Ohne Titel, brought on an onslaught of racist comments (receiving more than 37K comments and 121K “likes” overall). Trolls mocked the size of her lips, their shape, and Lagum herself. “At first, I was flattered because I absolutely think my lips look beautiful in that photo,” Lagum told the Times. “But when I started to read the comments, it was quite unsettling. Horrible things were being written, and I was not very surprised, which is itself very disheartening.”
Positive commenters fought back against the trolls, and MAC flagged the negative comments to Instagram and asked that they be taken down, the company’s global president said. Two days later, the company posted a follow-up graphic to Instagram: “All ages, all races, all sexes.”
Photo: Instagram.com/maccosmetics
But Lagum didn’t just let it go after the hubbub died down. She posted a picture of blog post about the incident to her Instagram account, along with the caption “My lips giving you sleepless nights.” She regrammed a fan’s drawing of the lip pic, using the hashtag #PrettyLipsPeriod. And now, she says, she’s determined to help women feel beautiful in their own skin. “I saw I could be an activist for young women of color or any woman out there who feels like she looks different,” she told the Times.
Follow Lagum on Instagram as she takes on Milan fashion week — we’re sure this won’t be the last we’ll see of the model.
Read This Next: This Model Just Called Out What It’s Like to Be a Woman of Color in the Makeup Chair
