Katie Piper became visibly distressed on Thursday as she revealed the impact of receiving abusive messages from female trolls following her attendance at the National Television Awards (NTAs). The TV personality, who sustained severe facial burns and blindness in one eye from an acid attack in 2008, shared her emotional reaction to online comments that targeted her appearance.
Piper, 42, had appeared at the NTAs in a black dress alongside her colleagues from "Loose Women," a show that was nominated for Best Daytime prize. Despite feeling good about her appearance on the night, she later shared a video detailing the influx of negative messages she received after an interview with Women & Home magazine.
"The comments were going mad and I thought 'oh why?' and it's just endless, like 'Urgh, look at her, what happened to her face? Oh she's overdone it on the filler. Oh my God, why are we talking about the hair, the hair's not the problem! That face!' blah blah blah," Piper recounted in the video, her voice breaking with emotion. She added, "I know I'm not beautiful, I know I don't look like you, I know I'm not the prettiest person on your Instagram and usually I don't care."
Piper explained that she made the "mistake" of reading the comments, noting with dismay that "they're all women!" She questioned why they were "policing women's appearance," emphasizing that such comments were not only damaging to her but also to "every single woman that sees these comments." She appealed to the commenters, asking if they would tolerate similar remarks directed at their colleagues or family, urging them to consider the kind of world they were contributing to.
Her heartfelt post garnered thousands of supportive comments from fans and fellow celebrities. Many reminded her of her strength and beauty, with singer Natalie Pinkham stating, "It’s staggering when women hurt women; as our world’s not tough enough. Thank you for this message today. I’m sorry you had to post it; but I am also glad you did. I stand with you, and admire you greatly."
Dancer Dianne Buswell commented, "You are a super woman and yes you are beautiful ❤️." Rachel Stevens added, "you’re such an inspiration xxx." Linda Lusardi wrote, "Take no notice of them. These people have nothing better to do. You’re the most courageous beautiful woman I’ve ever met. ❤️."
Fellow "Loose Women" star Myleene Klass recalled Piper's presence at the awards, saying, "Katie. I was with you that night and I was over the moon to be with you. Your company, your energy, your funny one liners….and you also happened to look incredibly BEAUTIFUL. They don’t matter. They’re trying to. They just don’t x."
Piper has been open about her journey since the 2008 attack, which required over 400 operations. She has since become an advocate for body positivity and a supporter of burns survivors and disfigurement victims through her charitable foundation.