'Mugshot makeup' challenge criticised for glamourising domestic violence
A controversial TikTok challenge where people create mock-up mugshots of themselves has prompted criticism, with many people saying it glamourises domestic violence.
The challenge came to light after influencers with significant social media followings, such as James Charles and Corinna Kopf, started taking part.
y’all are romanticizing one of the most evil industries in the world. the prison carceral system is racist & harmful. mugshots represent a terrifying time in someone’s life, its not a quirky makeup look
what are you doing to support abolitionists?@jamescharles @CorinnaKopf pic.twitter.com/ORCFxnwmg2— autumn 🌹🌊 (@autumnskyelann)
In Kopf’s now-deleted photographs, the influencer posed with a fake bloodied nose alongside the caption “mugshot”.
Charles, who has 5.1m followers on Twitter and is best known as a beauty influencer, also posed with a fake bloodied nose and black eyes, in his since-deleted ”mugshot” photos.
Unpacking the controversial ‘mugshot challenge’ makeup trend https://t.co/l4jpFOctzI pic.twitter.com/ydoeuBOPvs
— M. del F (@migueldelfresno)
But both influencers were heavily criticised for taking part in the “mugshot makeup” challenge.
arrested for what ? pic.twitter.com/Q7hFrlm2A4
— avani dicaprio (1990s edition) (@lilpapivoni)
“I don’t understand why this would be a trend,” tweeted one person in response to Charles.
“I love James but it’s not fun having your face bruised and not being able to cover them up. Maybe I’m being too sensitive but this made me feel really uncomfortable because I couldn’t take mine off. It made me feel so dehumanised.”
Please do not post fake “mugshots” with fake beaten up makeup. You will never know the horror of being beaten up just to save yourself from domestic abuse.
— loys 🇵🇭 (@ichagirlloys)
Charles replied by clarifying that his post had “nothing” to do with domestic abuse.
“Hi babe, I’m so sorry that you went through something so awful and traumatic,” the 20-year-old wrote.
“It’s a Tik Tok trend going around where people post their ‘mugshots’ and has nothing to do with domestic violence whatsoever. love you.”
But as criticism mounted, with people labelling the challenge “offensive” and “harmful”, Charles decided to delete his contribution.
“Despite the fact that hundreds of other influencers and artists have done something similar, I deleted the mugshot trend because it was never my intention to trigger anyone and it’s a waste of time trying to have an open discussion with people who hate me regardless,” he tweeted.
