Why Is A Photo Of 'Ice Spice' With No Makeup Going Viral? Social Media's Reactions Explained

Hip-hop sensation Ice Spice is a hot topic of discussion once again as a photo of herself with no makeup goes viral on social media. The photo, which seems to come from 2021, is inspiring extreme reactions online as some people use it to make fun of the artist, while others come to her defense. Here's why.

Why Is A Photo Of 'Ice Spice' With No Makeup Going Viral?

A couple of photos of Ice Spice with no makeup, or at least less makeup than usual, have gone viral before. However, this most recent photo of the rapper sans-makeup has made a particularly noisy splash online. While it's unclear where the photo comes from, it seems to be a selfie taken by Ice Spice herself and it's likely from 2021, when she had long, pink hair rather than her signature red, curly hair.

The first time it went viral was back in October, when an X user posted it with the caption, "Never gonna trust a woman who wears makeup ever again," suggesting Ice Spice is using makeup to lie to people about her appearance. Now it's going viral again after another user shared it on X with a similar caption, writing, "Ice Spice no makeup on idk how to feel anymore 💔," an arguably dramatic response to a woman without makeup that gained over 48,000 likes in only two days.

How Is Social Media Reacting To 'Ice Spice' With No Makeup?

So, why is the photo going viral? Well, some people love to see celebrities without makeup. In particular, some people love to judge celebrities without makeup, like when Pokimane streamed with no makeup back in 2018, sparking a mountain of criticism towards her. Essentially, it's going viral because people are arguing over whether or not it's considered "lying" to present yourself online with makeup.

Social media has taken two sides on the matter: some are making fun of Ice Spice for the photo and claiming it's evidence of the way women lie by wearing makeup, while others are defending Ice Spice and insisting she looks just as good without it.

One user defended her, writing, "Imagine if we could normalize non-make up photos and just accept people for who they are" to over 20,000 likes. Another wrote, "Nothing wrong here. That’s how an actual woman looks like without filter and makeup" to similar support.

Many are making memes out of the photo and comparing Ice Spice's no makeup look to a variety of characters. One of the most popular comparisons is Roger from American Dad, while another compared her to Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

The support for Ice Spice seems to be outweighing the hate as TikTokers and X users band together to defend the woman who created "Munch" from any hate. Still, it's interesting to see just how strong the discourse surrounding women and makeup remains in 2023, with many still taking strong stances against it.

For the full history of Ice Spice with no makeup, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.