Being stuck indoors on lockdown hasn’t stopped influencers from doing the very most, and a bunch of them have been embroiled in another scandal due to a misguided ‘challenge’.
James Charles, Corinna Kopf of the Vlog Squad, and Hype House’s Avani Gregg have all been slammed for taking part in the mugshot challenge, which has been said to glamorise violence.
The mugshot challenge sees people doing their makeup to look as if they’ve been beaten up, with fake blood and bruises a common feature, as well as tear-stains and messy hair.
They then pose as if they’re having a mugshot taken by the police, sometimes speculating on what they would’ve done to be arrested.
At present the hashtag #mugshot has over 155 million views on TikTok, and the most liked video including the hashtag has over half a million likes.
The stylised images have since been doing the rounds, prompting a backlash from people who felt that it was making light of domestic abuse and violence.
In response to a Twitter user who called James Charles’ mugshot photos ‘triggering’, the YouTuber said: ‘This dumb trend has nothing to do with domestic abuse. what about action movies? halloween? special effects? simple bloody noses? this is nothing new.’
Charles later deleted the tweet featuring the pictures, but many more are still available online from other influencers.
As well as the argument that these posts can be triggering and upsetting for victims of domestic violence, there’s also the fact that the trend appears to make light of arrests and incarceration.
One Twitter user said of this: ‘Black and Brown people face disproportionate rates of incarceration, but yts are turning fake mugshot pics into a trend?’
Another argued: ‘Ur telling me a “mugshot” has become a trend. doing makeup to look like you’ve gotten beat and brutalized by police. yk POC actually get beat by police and taken to precincts for mugshots, half of the time just for being black.’
Given that some people are also using contact lenses to mimic looking intoxicated and making fun of addiction and crime for clout, no one taking part in this challenge comes off well.
Maybe we should all stick to making whipped coffee from now on?
Do you have a story to share? Get in touch at MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk.
Share your views in the comments below.
MORE: Boyfriend redoes two years of dates for his girlfriend when nosebleed made her forget her whole life
MORE: Guy claims to have recreated KFC’s chicken recipe after a year of experimenting
