Rihanna Receives Praise For Not Retouching A Model’s Facial Scars In Her Fenty Beauty Campaign

Rihanna is showing her fans that she celebrates beauty in all forms.

In a recent Fenty Beauty campaign on the beauty conglomerate’s website, an image of model Aweng Mayen Chuol is on full display. The model’s profile is shown as she models a roped ear cuff. While she is wearing Fenty Beauty, fans of the brand noticed that Chuol’s facial scars are completely visible in the editorial shot. Chuol shared the image on her Instagram page with her 69,500 followers. The model also shared that the shoot was styled by Rihanna’s longtime stylist Jahleel Weaver. Elle reports that Rihanna’s decision to share the non-retouched photo of Chuol was something that her fans were excited to see.

“I love that the images used on Fenty are not retouched and that the model’s skin is not perfect by societal standards,” one follower tweeted.

“Wow! As a girl with scars, this really touches my heart. I’ve never had any reason to feel less terrible about my scars until seeing this,” another follower chimed in.

Chuol has reportedly addressed her scars on several occasions since she began her modeling career. In an interview with Dazed, the model discussed how her scars have always been the topic of conversation during her shoots. She also stated that she has been compared to a “Jaguar” in the past.

“Sometimes I just want to shout at everyone: ‘Look at me, I’m not just a scar, I’m a human.’ But I get it, it’s a curiosity. I know I’m different, I know my facial features are different, but to me that’s beauty.”

This isn’t the first time that Rihanna has used her platform to promote diversity. Since launching Fenty Beauty in 2017, Paper Magazine shared that Rihanna has changed the standard of how to launch a beauty line that is inclusive of all beauty lovers. The mogul currently has the widest range of foundations and concealers that match many different skin tones. The “Work” singer’s lingerie line, Savage X Fenty, also supports inclusivity by showing a diverse group of models in various shapes and sizes.

The multi-talented star is reportedly not finished breaking barriers in terms of diversity just yet. Last month, Rihanna became the first black woman to partner with LVMH for her luxury line, Fenty. To celebrate the launch, the designer paid homage to Kwame Brathwaite with her first collection, Release 5-19. Paper reports that Brathwaite helped to pioneer the Black Is Beautiful movement in the 1950s and 1960s.