Katie Piper fought back tears on Thursday after she revealed she was subjected to vile abuse from female trolls over her appearance at the National Television Awards.
The TV personality, 42, suffered facial burns and blindness 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 multiple reconstructive procedures to help her appearance and on Tuesday, she looked fabulous in a slinky black dress as she joined her fellow Loose Women stars at the bash where they were up for the Best Daytime prize.
But in a new video, despite revealing she felt ‘really nice’ on the night, Katie told how she faced dozens of horrible messages targeting her looks during an interview with a magazine.
Sitting in her car, Katie heartbreakingly said: ‘I know I’m not the prettiest’ as she reflected on the messages, while her supportive fans and pals 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 having such a great start to her day, she was left dejected after receiving many notifications on her phone following her red carpet interview with Women & Home magazine.
Katie Piper fought back tears on Thursday after she revealed she was subjected to vile abuse from female trolls over her appearance at the National Television Awards
In a new video, despite revealing she felt ‘really nice’ on the night, Katie told how she faced dozens of horrible messages targeting her looks during an interview with a magazine
She explained: ‘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.
‘And you’re just like, I am a normal person, I am a real person. I’m just out here trying to do my best, trying to live my life, be a wife, be a mum, be a daughter…’
Katie sadly continued: ‘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.
‘This is my life, this is the life that God intended for me and I’m living it to the fullest. But just occasionally, you just feel like, not giving up that’s the wrong word, but just stopping it all and not putting yourself out there anymore.
‘It just makes you think, why are you doing this to strangers on the internet?’
The star then told how she made the ‘mistake’ of replying to the mean comments with Katie noting ‘they’re all women!’.
She told how she questioned why they are ‘policing women’s appearance’ , noting that they were not just ‘damaging’ her, but ‘every single woman that sees these comments.’
Continuing her rant, the activist added: ‘You’re saying to people that it’s an issue if you don’t meet beauty standards and you are playing a part in creating a nightmare for all other women. This is your digital footprint, this is your legacy, this is what you are part of.
The TV personality, 42, suffered facial burns and blindness in one eye after she was attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and accomplice Stefan Sylvestre in 2008 (Katie pictured in 2009)
Sitting in her car, Katie heartbreakingly said: ‘I know I’m not the prettiest’ as she reflected on the messages, while her supportive fans and pals flooded her with positive comments
She told how she questioned why they are ‘policing women’s appearance’, noting that they were not just ‘damaging’ her, but ‘every single woman that sees these comments’
The TV star’s impassioned post was met with thousands of comments from her fans and showbiz pals who threw their support behind her and reminded her just how beautiful she was
‘Would you stand by this if all of those comments got sent to your colleagues and got sent to your family? Just be careful what world you’re creating for all of us to live in. That’s all I’ve got to say.’
Captioning her defiant post, Katie penned: ‘I know who I am, and who am I am not, but, do you know who you are?’
The TV star’s impassioned post was met with thousands of comments from her fans and showbiz pals who threw their support behind her and reminded her just how beautiful she was.
Natalie Pinkham shared: ‘It’s staggering when women hurt women; as if the 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.’
Dianne Buswell commented: ‘You are a super woman and yes you are beautiful ‘
While Rachel Stevens wrote: ‘you’re such an inspiration xxx.’
Linda Lusardi added: ‘Take no notice of them. These people have nothing better to do. You’re the most courageous beautiful woman I’ve ever met. .’
Dannii Minogue said: ‘Katie – you, your words, your kindness and your digital footprint, you can be proud of. By all means take time for you, but do not let them take your light.’
Fellow Loose Women star Myleene Klass remarked: ‘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’
Laura Adlington shared: ‘Keep going Katie. You are such a force for good and just know this app is a much better place because you’re 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, with one writing: ‘This is SO AWFUL I’m so sorry and you ARE beautiful inside and out. These people have the problem, they get off on it, and they are jealous of you. The world is a tough 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 host was lucky to have survived her 2008 acid attack, but there was an agonising road to recovery 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 inspire body positivity and to support burns survivors and disfigurement victims with her charitable foundation.
