Why Do We Expect Celebrities To Come Clean If They’ve Had Work Done?

Supermodel Bella Hadid has finally come clean about her rumoured nose job, admitting that she did in fact have one when she was 14.

Naturally her revelation sparked headlines all around the world. Why had she lied about it earlier? Why come clean now? Especially since cosmetic surgery rumours have surrounded the 25-year-old for her entire modelling career and a lot of other celebrities too.

Bella Hadid Speaking The Truth

In a recent interview with Vogue, Bella Hadid opened up about her mental health struggles, eating disorder and set the record straight about her nose job.

She told Vogue that she had wished she’d kept the nose of her ancestors, and that she thinks she would’ve grown into it.

In the past, the supermodel has been accused of going to a plastic surgeon with photographs of supermodel and former French first lady Carli Bruni, whom Hadid has often been compared to.

In fact, instagram has been rife with before and after shots of the model for years.

Hadid told Vogue, that people think she fully messed with her face because of one picture of her when she was a teenager looking puffy, and pointed out that none of us look the same now as we did when we were 13.

Celeb Cosmetic Surgery Culture

Hadid’s frank conversation was a relief for her after years of tiptoeing around her seemingly transformative nose.

Knowing just how young she was when she got her nose job – an age when teenagers probably shouldn’t be making life-altering decisions – the truth comes at a higher cost.

Just like fashion trends, plastic surgery procedures shift overtime and celebrities play a big role in influencing how they are portrayed to the public.

During the pandemic, Australia, US, the UK, Japan, South Korea have all reported surges for plastic surgeries.

Facelifts, fillers and botox were the most sought after procedures – arguably products of social media influencing face tuned, filtered faces that have thinner, smoother skin, larger eyes and fuller lips.

Before the likes of instagram or snapchat, the longtime number one procedure was boob jobs and even the Kardashian inspired BBL surgery.

Transparency From Those Perpetuating Harmful Beauty Ideals

But cosmetic surgery can be a very private and big decision for people, as it can equally be empowering and positively life changing.

So why do we even feel privy to this information from celebs in the first place?

For years celebrities like the Kardashians have remained pretty tight-lipped about procedures they’ve had done unless it’s been forced out of them or accidentally leaked online.

For me personally, transparency is welcomed for all the times I have scrolled my instagram feed and stopped on a celebrity pic and thought, “How could they possibly look that perfect?” Especially if that celebrity had batted away plastic surgery rumours.

In a world where supermodels and influencers do set beauty ideals and norms for the rest of us – whether they believe they are doing it unintentionally or not – honesty is essential to confronting extremely harmful beauty standards.

And is a step towards opening up healthier and more inclusive spaces.

Although Hadid and other celebrities don’t technically owe us any truths about their private life – when their public life profits off visibility and beauty, it’s refreshing to know how attainable and realistic their looks are…

Especially to young people online.