Gen Zers slammed after claiming 28-year-old TikToker looks ‘old’
A video of a woman showing her makeup-free face has gone viral for a brutal reason after Gen Zers claimed they were left “shocked”.
In a grim start to 2024, it now turns out that looking like a normal woman in her late 20s is no longer acceptable by Gen Z’s standards.
The internet has been left horrified after an unsettling amount of young people accused a 28-year-old woman of looking “old” after she posted a video with no makeup and no filters.
US woman Courtney Ball took to TikTok earlier this month to share a photo of her “raw” face – and the response she received was nothing short of brutal.
“Here’s a reminder of what the raw face of a 28-year-old girl who hasn’t had any ‘work’ done looks like,” she wrote.
“Wrinkles, freckles, sunspots, imperfections, breakouts, discolouration, all very normal.”
While many commenters praised Courtney and her intention behind the video, it wasn’t long before the comment section turned nasty, with Gen Zers leading the charge.
“Stay out of the sun jeez woman,” one person wrote, while another claimed the sun was “eating her up”.
There were dozens of comments claiming the young mum looked older than her age, with some even suggesting she looked like she was in her 40s.
“Seems more like 38, rather than 28,” one person said.
“Oh my god lord help me if I ever look like this. This is why you always use sunscreen and do skin care or else you look like this at 28,” a commenter said.
Another person questioned whether it was “normal” to have wrinkles at 28, while others claimed a “normal, healthy 28-year-old face doesn’t look like that”.
“Girl looking that old at 28 is not normal … I’m shocked,” another wrote, while one brutally claimed it was a “rough 28”.
The reaction was so unexpected, that the creator had to make multiple follow-up videos addressing some of the nastier comments.
Courtney hit back at the claims she doesn’t wear SPF, revealing she puts it on in the morning and reapplies during the day.
“I am just very freckly and I just haven’t ever done anything to my face, it’s just what it looks like naturally,” she said.
In another video, the 28-year-old revealed that, when she posted the first clip, she did not expect more than a million people to “criticise everything abut my skin”.
She said her intention when posting the video was to remind people of what a “normal” face looks like on a person who has “gone through life, gone through things and made some mistakes”.
“I have never got filler, I’ve never got my lips done, I’ve never got anything in my face, nothing,” she said.
“So, while we are on this topic, yes, I certainly have sun damage. I have a lot of freckles since I have had since I was born, I have always been freckly. Of course they have gotten worse from the sun.
“A lot of the sun damage that you see in my face is inevitable.”
She claimed she was very naive when first moving to Hawaii, after having little experience with living in a tropical climate.
She said she didn’t know how to properly take care of her skin and it has only been in the past few years that she has been diligent in things like wearing SPF daily and drinking enough water.
The young mum also pointed out the lines around her eyes, explaining she has had them since she was 15 and they run “heavy” in her family.
“These (smile lines) we love those. I smile. I’m a happy girl, my face shows it,” she said, adding that she was just a “normal, human girl”.
The reaction from some of the younger social media users sparked a wave of outrage from other TikTokers.
The video now has more than 7.5 million views and 15,600 comments, with people rushing to defend Courtney and shame the bullies in the comment section.
“You’re beautiful! These comments are breaking my heart. I thought women were supposed to be lifting each other up,” one person wrote.
“These comments are unhinged and so out of touch. I feel sorry for everyone who missed the point of this video. You are radiant,” another said.
Other people claimed social media and the rise of cosmetic procedures had ruined the younger generations’ perception of ageing.
“Social media has DESTROYED people’s perception of what people look like. This is such normal looking skin for a 28-year-old,” one person claimed.
Another added: People literally have no concept of ageing anymore because of social media and cosmetic surgery. You’re gorgeous and they’re insane.”