Kylie Jenner doesn’t deserve to be shamed for her surgery just because she’s young

Kylie Jenner literally can’t seem to do anything right at the moment. In the last month alone, she’s been accused of not letting Selena Gomez get a picture with Timothée Chalamet at the Golden Globes, ridiculed by fans and (his?) family for dating said actor in the first place, and – this week – relentlessly trolled online for her allegedly “botched” and “melting” face.

Yup. After Kylie stepped out in a pale and understated makeup look at the Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 2024 show at Paris Fashion Week, Twitter erupted with abuse:  “She’s so hot for a 55 year old!” wrote one person sarcastically. ““Her mother looks younger,” added another. “Kylie just added 10 years to her actual age with this face,” piled on a third. Soon, searches for “Kylie Jenner surgery” and “Kylie Jenner before and after” began to dramatically climb on Google.

Kylie Jenner is 26. Older mentally, perhaps, thanks to motherhood and global stardom— but 26 nonetheless. And – like most other 26-year-old women –  she still has self esteem issues, which she’s spoken about publicly on The Kardashians: “I went through that stage,” Kylie said on the show of previously over-editing her Instagram pictures thanks to her worries about her appearance. “I feel like I’m in a better place, but other people can instill insecurities in you.”

And won’t they just try. Imagine glancing at your phone and seeing the whole world ridiculing your face the moment you’re not edited into smoothed FaceTuned obscurity. Money, fame and filler don’t give you an ego of steel. And – worst of all – Kylie doesn’t even look bad. She’s just stood in harsh lighting— rather than the beautifying ring light we’re used to.

All of this unnecessary discourse over Kylie’s face is – shock – is making normal women feel like shit. Because, actually, with the bags under her eyes, dewey skin and dark lighting, this is the closest we’ve come to seeing what Kylie Jenner might look like when a nightclub turns its lights on at the end of a sweaty night out— undeniably beautiful but not totally flawless. Relatable. And therefore (according to the internet) wrong?

“The way everyone has been picking at Kylie’s face today has been.. a lot,” pointed out one person on Twitter. “I am around Kylie’s age,” added another, comparing themselves. “Have never had any cosmetic work done, and I have these same lines on my face. It is normal!! Especially in this kind of light. She just looks like a human woman, which we aren’t used to seeing.”

So, yeah. Kylie is young. She’s had filler. And looks older than she is— just as she has always done throughout her long and aggressively judgemental career in the public eye. But youth is a reason to cut celebrities a bit of slack not lambast them for not looking the way you want them to even further. Fame doesn’t make you immune from self doubt and hatred. No woman’s face should be the water cooler chat of the day. End of.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• People are coming for Kylie Jenner and her apparent facial filler after video goes viral

• From botox to filler: Inside the rise in demand for men’s plastic surgery

• ‘Influencers to bankers’: Every type of young professional sneaking into the botox clinic

Featured image credit via Laurent VU/SIPA/Shutterstock