Artists pay tribute to little girl who called herself 'ugly' in viral video

Artists — and celebrities including Jada Pinkett-Smith and Viola Davis — have taken to social media to lift up a little girl who called herself “ugly” in a video that went viral. And the results have been truly inspiring.

It all began on Friday, when Atlanta-based hairstylist Shabria posted an Instagram video in which she is retwisting the locs of a 4-year-old girl named Ariyonna. At the start of the video, Ariyonna looks into the camera as Shabria is talking and says, “I’m so ugly.” The hairstylist quickly stops doing the child’s hair to encourage her and to tell she’s not.

“Don’t say that. Don’t say that. You are so pretty,” she tells the girl. “When you look at yourself you’re supposed to say ‘I’m so pretty’...You got the prettiest little dimples, you are so cute.”

Shabria holds Ariyonna to comfort her as she cries, and continues to give her words of encouragement.

“We must UPLIFT Our Queens,” Shabria captioned the video. “While doing her hair she had alllll the energy in the world then out of nowhere she stares at herself and gets soooo discouraged it broke my heart into pieces because she has the GREATEST energy and the most beautiful smile and heart ! She comes from a great home & loving mother. I just think when kids go to school they learn and pick up sooo much different things that they don’t know the definition but they know the feeling! Keep her in your prayers and keep lifting up our future !!!”

The heartbreaking yet precious moment has drawn more than 68K likes and thousands of comments, with many viewers praising Shabria for being there for the girl in her time of need. Many affirmed that Ariyonna was beautiful — including none other than Oscar-nominated “Hair Love” director Matthew Cherry, who asked artists to create drawings of Ariyonna so she could see what others see when they look at her.

And Twitter definitely answered the call.

There are many more stunning images where those came from — especially since Ariyonna now has her very own Instagram page, which went up on Monday and showcases much of the artwork along with photos of the girl and her family.

Several celebs took notice of Ariyonna’s story, too, and decided to share a messages of gratefulness and empowerment.

“THIS made me cry!” Jada Pinkett-Smith said on Instagram. “Kudos to this beautiful woman for loving on this beautiful child! We gotta love on each other! This made my heart sing.”

Actress Viola Davis also shared Shabria’s video.

“THIS is the motivating factor for Black women to leave a legacy...of WORTH of BEAUTY!” She said. “We are fighting hundreds of years of brutal conditioning of being considered less than. It is sprinkled in our language, behavior, laws, music...etc.. and trickles down to our youth. I'm speaking LIFE into Ariyonna. From a sista who looks a lot like you....you were born worthy therefore you were born beautiful!”

Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Shabria for comment and will update here with any reply.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• 'Hair Love' creator Matthew Cherry aims to 'normalize black fatherhood' with Oscar-winning short

• Cut your dreadlocks or miss graduation, Texas high school tells teen

• CDC urges at-risk Americans to ‘take action’ by stocking up on food and medicine for coronavirus

Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter.