WTF is this?!
An Instagram influencer is in hot water this month over an accusation that she’s been changing her look, wait for it… to appear more black in order to increase her popularity!
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Emma Hallberg, a 19-year-old Swedish model, is under attack from many Instagram commenters after old photos surfaced on the internet showing Hallberg with a MUCH lighter complexion and straighter hair than what she’s consistently shown on her IG page!
The side-by-side photo comparison in question kicked off quite the social media firestorm, as you can see (below):
White girls if you want to pass as Black, how about using your platforms to address the injustices and discrimation actual Black people face. Don't just appropriate, Appreciate the people you are imitating #emmahallberg pic.twitter.com/gpmkvB0BZj
— Niccole Nero Gaines (@2CsNiccole) November 19, 2018
WHOA!!!
She’s definitely going for quite the look in her recent IG photos, as just one of which (below) will show:
Yeah… compared to the OLD Emma (top left in that Twitter side-by-side), that definitely doesn’t even look like the same person…
And while people certainly grow and change with time, the whole new complexion seems like… a lot??
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Twitter and Instagram users sure thought so, with some reacting like this (below):
I thought she was mixed my girl is fully SWEDISH
— JuJusWorld (@juuunesworld) November 8, 2018
Others straight up accused Hallberg of racial appropriation, like one IG commenter who said she was “blackfishing” for popularity (below):
“This Swedish White girl is guilty of ‘blackfishing,’ a term used to describe someone who masquerades as a Blk person to deceive others. By extreme tanning, dark makeup & braids, this fraud is exposed!”
Wow!
Eventually, the backlash got SO bad the young Swede took to her own IG Stories to post a series of messages trying to explain her look.
She wrote (below):
“Let me explain. You’ve probably seen these two pictures besides [sic] each other all over Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, where they are called the ‘before & after.’ The left picture was taken 2 years ago right before summer with barely any makeup and my hair straightened. The right picture was taken in July right after I came home from a vacation, with makeup. I’ve been accused of doing frequent spray tans, taking melatonin, getting hair perms and lip injections and many more. When I haven’t done anything of the above. This is how the sun tans my skin naturally during the summer.”
Hmmm…
The model went on to explain how acne and other skin issues are the reason behind her darker foundation and overall look as it is now (below):
“In my YouTube video I use a darker foundation than my face only to match it to the rest of my body. Why my face is less tanned than my body is because I have some acne and scar issues so I use a lot of face scrubs, toners and peeling products. I do not get my sponsorships, work opportunities and collaborations because of the color of my skin. I get it because of the way I style my clothes and create makeup looks.”
That certainly hasn’t quelled the comments on her IG page. Are you buyin’ it, Perezcious readers?!
Or is Emma Hallberg ‘blackfishing’ everybody with her appropriated complexion??
Sound off on it in the comments (below)!
[Image via Emma Hallberg/Instagram.]
