Lizzie Velasquez And Disability Activists Slam FaceTime Prank With Their Likenesses

Anti-bullying activist Lizzie Velasquez took to TikTok earlier this week to condemn a FaceTime prank in which people are using pictures of disabled people to scare their relatives.

In the video, Velasquez highlights a mother who tells her son she's showing him a picture of his new teacher, only to show him a picture of Velasquez and film his scared reaction.

“If you are an adult, who has a young human in your life, please do not teach them that being scared of someone who doesn’t look like them is OK,” she said in a video that has gained over 1.3 million views. “Everything that these kids need to know about having empathy and being kind to one another starts at home.”

This is not the first time Velasquez has responded to memes which use her likeness. In 2016, Velasquez, who has marfanoid-progeroid-lipodystrophy syndrome discussed a meme using her likeness on Instagram, writing, "the innocent people that are being put in these memes are… feeling something that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy." She continues to use social media to discuss how her likeness is used online and encourage empathy.