Woman fights back at online trolls after makeover photo goes viral

Ashley VanPevenage hit back at trolls online after they made fun of a before picture of her

The woman recorded a video calling out her online abusers (Ashley VanPevanage)

A young woman has spoken out after a before and after image went viral and attracted nasty abuse from internet users.

Ashley VanPevenage, a 20-year-old student from Washington, had been suffering from serious acne when she allowed her make-up artist friend to give her a makeover. Her friend posted a side-by-side picture to Instagram, with a before photo showing the extent of VanPevenage’s acne, and the after the results of the makeover.

 

A photo posted by @makeupbydreigh on Jan 16, 2015 at 7:08pm PST

The photo quickly spread across social media, along with vile bullying messages such as: “I’ll spend time with her as long as I never have to see her before 10am.”

But now, months after her photo spread around the internet, Miss VanPevenage has responded to her bullying in a YouTube video.

“Some days I will read through the comments and just see how cruel people can be”

&#13; <p>Ashley VanPevenage</p>&#13;

In it she says: "I'll be the first to say that I've been entertainment by many memes but when it's actually you and you're dealing with all the harsh comments it's a whole different story."

At the end of the video, Miss VanPevenage says: "People's opinions don't matter to me. Everyone should feel beautiful in their own skin. And it doesn't matter what's on the outside of your face. The only thing that matters is who you really are."