Teen behind viral 'Angelina Jolie' plastic surgery photos reveals she lied
The images shocked the web - it turns out they were the result of clever make-up and bad Photoshop
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A young woman who shocked the internet with her shocking appearance - which she claimed was the result of botched plastic surgery to look like Angelina Jolie - has finally come clean: it was a hoax.
Sahar Tabar claimed to have gone under the knife more than 50 times in a bid to look like the smouldering A-lister, with results that looked more harrowing than Hollywood.
But while many media organisations were suckered in by the story, Sahar has admitted that she faked the whole thing - and the clues were there all along.
While it is unclear what made the 19-year-old Iranian come clean, it certainly seems likely that the harassment that came along with her brief online fame played a part, as the teen has since changed her Instagram to private.
Tabar told Russian news outlet Sputnik that she doctored the nightmare-inducing photos as a way to 'amuse' herself.
“Now I can see that I have something in common with (Angelina Jolie), but I amuse myself, and to look like someone is not my goal.”
But if amusing herself with practical jokes doesn’t work out for her, the teen may have a future in the cosmetic industry.
Rather than being the result of plastic surgery, the teen’s new “look” was actually created through a combination of makeup and Photoshop - although she may have to work on the Photoshop skills.
Prior to admitting the hoax, multiple social media users had raised suspicions over the validity of the teen’s pictures after noticing warped backgrounds and odd angles in some of the photos - tell-tale signs photo-altering software has been used.
Speaking about the altered photos, Tabar said, “My fans know that this is not my real face.”
We aren’t quite sure what fans she is referring to, but people do seem relieved at the teen’s startlingly normal appearance, which has been revealed after untouched photos of her emerged.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments