Woman’s Selfie Sparks Thousands of Comments on Her Appearance, But She Stands Firm and Refuses to Delete It
Naomie Pilula is a familiar face to many. She works five days a week, attends church on Sundays, and enjoys getting her nails done. Like many, she shares snippets of her life on Instagram, posting a few times a week about her love for fashion, friends, and family.
However, she was taken aback when a video about her favorite face mask sparked comments questioning her looks, including “Is this AI?” and “Is she using a filter?” It became clear that people were critiquing her appearance, but it wasn’t until she posted a selfie in June that she faced the harshness of online judgment.
Born and raised in Zambia, Pilula is the youngest of seven siblings. She reflects on how her understanding of beauty has evolved over time. In Zambia, a curvy figure is often celebrated, and as someone with a smaller frame, she frequently faced pressure to conform, People reports.
Pilula later studied at the University of Queensland in Australia and the University of Auckland in New Zealand. In Australia, she was often the only Black student in her classes, which added complexity to her understanding of beauty and desirability.
Growing up, she was teased about her nose, a feature she eventually came to embrace. “It’s my father’s nose,” she says. “Why would I want to remove a feature that identifies me with him?” She reached a point where she felt comfortable in her skin, realizing that her self-worth comes from within.
Now a lawyer in Zambia’s financial sector, Pilula has built a fulfilling life. However, after receiving a hurtful comment about rhinoplasty in June, she felt her past insecurities resurfacing. “I had people telling me outright, ‘You’re ugly,’” she recalls.
After initially responding with a video she later deleted, she turned to her sister for support. Her sister reminded her to focus on why the comment upset her. This reflection led Pilula to realize she still had some healing to do.
Turning to her faith, she found strength in Psalm 139:15-16, which reassures her of her worth. “God actually put you together,” she says, emphasizing that her understanding of self comes from her relationship with God.
When she posted a “Happy Monday!” selfie in June, it quickly went viral, receiving over 530,000 comments—most of them negative. Despite the backlash, Pilula found that the posts with the most criticism also attracted more followers. “If the purpose of this was to destroy me, I’m not going to agree with that purpose,” she asserts.
Looking ahead, Pilula aims to continue living authentically and encouraging others to embrace who they are. “I want people to see confidence,” she explains. “I’m not an aesthetically beautiful person, but I love myself, and that’s a certain level of beauty.”
Since April, her follower count has skyrocketed from 1,000 to 20,000. “I’m just doing what I would normally do on social media,” she says, determined to stay true to herself.
