Megan Barton Hansonhas defended herself after she was branded a hypocrite for being a representative in Avon’s latest campaign. The former Love Islander revealed she was a part of the beauty company’s Perfect Nudes project, which aims to raise self-esteem and promote diversity in the industry, by posting an advert on Instagram yesterday. And while Megan looked gorgeous in the video, some of her fans were quick to criticise her part in the ad due to her highly-publicised plastic surgeries - such as a nose job and lip fillers.
“I’m really proud to be working on the new #stand4her campaign with @avon_uk,” Megan captioned the post. “The campaign is about the #powerofbeauty and Avon’s promise to challenge beauty stereotypes and the media’s perception of beauty. They also pledge to use a wide range of women and men in their campaigns, supporting freedom of expression and representing a wide range of people. I’ve always been judged for the way I look, as have millions of other women so I feel so privileged to be working on such a powerful campaign.”
However, the post didn’t go down well with everyone, with one follower commenting: “Hang on, you have changed everything about yourself and expect people to believe in the whole ‘you want people to be proud of who they are’ #hypocrite.” And another, more simply, responded: “Says the person who spent £30k on plastic surgeries.”
“This is the sort of mentality we are working against. So narrow minded,” Megan hit back, replying to a now deleted comment. “Let people do with whatever they want to make themselves feel beautiful, makeup, surgery, clothing! Let people live.” And even in the advert – which features a range of people rallying for acceptance – she nods towards her procedures, as she says: “I think as women we should stick together, empower each other and whatever we want to do with our bodies, encourage that.”
But the response wasn’t all negative, with some fans leaping to Megan’s defense, praising the reality star for her role in the campaign. “'People are literally not getting it,” one wrote. “Yes, she's had surgery to change her looks. Maybe that's because she understands what it feels like to look in magazines and not feel good enough as you are. Now she's older and joining other people in an effort to tell young women you are good enough, because perfect doesn’t exist. If you're so mad about her having surgery to alter her image, you should actually support the campaign.”
The Stand4Her campaign, which is in partnership with charity Changing Faces, supports Avon’s pledge to increase diversity 'by featuring more models with visible differences'. And the video features Changing Face’s ambassador Catrin Pugh, who suffered 96% burns in a coach accident six years ago.
Back in October last year, Megan spoke to Grazia about the £25,000 she spent, prior to her stint in the villa, transforming her looks. “I worked so hard to get all the money I could and I feel like I can spend it any way I want,” she said, referencing her days making money through dancing and modelling. “If it makes me feel better, I don’t know why that’s seen as a negative thing? I was still beautiful in my own way back then, I’ve just changed a few things. I was comfortable then and I’m comfortable now.” The former stripper toldOK! Magazinethat she has had a boob job, rhinoplasty, lip fillers, veneers and that when she was fourteen she had her ears pinned back.
Off Instagram, she has also explained her role in the campaign. “When I came out of Love Island, I was shocked at the volume of cruel comments that I had received about the way I looked, my decision to have plastic surgery, and how I decided to change my body. I even received death threats,” Megan said. “I changed the way I look to make me happy, and no one else. But I do think it's important to send the message to young girls that having surgery won't make you feel different on the inside. At 19, when I had my first boob job and nose job, I thought I'd come out super confident, less introverted and shy. That just wasn't true - plastic surgery doesn't change who you are on the inside, only your outer shell.”