The internet can be an ugly place sometimes, and one woman has had to deal with the internet’s cruelty after being mocked for a selfie she posted on Instagram. Naomie Pilula is a 37-year-old lawyer from Lusaka, Zambia, a country in the south of Africa. Like many women, Pilula is passionate about all things fashion and beauty, and posts about these passions on her lifestyle and fashion Instagram pages @Naomie.Pilula and @Stylish_Zed_Lawyer.
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On June 23, Pilula posted a picture that would soon go viral with negative attention. In the picture, Pilula is showing her natural curls and glowing skin with a caption that reads: “The hair is hairing and the skin is skinning so I’m so happy!!! This is a Bantu knotout on freshly washed hair. So even though my hair is in dire need of a retire, it still looks cute. Here’s to feeling and looking cute.”
However, her innocent post fell into the hands of folks on the internet who started to mock Pilula for her looks, most notably her nose. Many of these comments were GIFs that featured cartoon characters with big noses, while others laughed and asked Pilula if she was using a filter on her selfie. But the bullying doesn’t stop at Instagram; her posts have been pulled onto TikTok, too, where people have doubled down, making fun of her and saying she should be a model with laughing emojis followed directly after.
Refusing to let the negative comments affect how she posts online, Pilula leans on her faith in God when she finds herself upset by the online harassment. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Naomie Pilula said that she loves herself:
“I really, really want people to see God. I want people to see confidence. I’m not an aesthetically beautiful person. I’m not, and that’s okay. But I love myself, and I can be myself. And with that is a certain level of beauty because there is a light that everyone has and that deserves to shine.”
One TikTok creator (@Everybodyhatekrissy) came to Pilula’s defence, pointing out that the online harassment the 37-year-old woman is receiving is because of featurism. If you don’t know, featurism is when people are judged based on how close their looks align with Eurocentric beauty standards, according to the Union of National Employees, which is a sector of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Tiktok creator Krissy put all the hate in perspective: “…Y’all hate Black women when they love themselves, and I hate that for y’all. Imagine loving yourself, feeling your (makeup) beat, feeling your skin no makeup, glowing, and being happy on your Monday, ” she said. “and people that are mad, (that) hate themselves, their skin is not glowing… they’re not popping like Miss Pilula so they decide to come to the comments and bring the hatred within themselves to her page.”
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