Katie Piper defied online trolls who mocked her appearance at last month's National Television Awards with a striking look at the Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards on Monday night. The 43-year-old Loose Women star said she felt "really good" following the NTAs, only to find herself on the receiving end of abuse on Instagram the next day.
Reaction to Online Abuse
"I thought I looked really nice, I felt really pretty," she revealed at the time. "I think I was even singing to myself, driving along." However, that all changed after she was tagged in a post on the red carpet by Woman & Home magazine.
Katie continued: "The comments are going mad. I thought, 'Oh why?' and it's just endless. Oh, look at her. What happened to her face? Oh, she's overdone it on the filler. Oh my God, why are we talking about the hair, the hair's not the problem. The face, blah blah."
Background and Career
Working as a model at the time, Katie was subjected to a horrific acid attack in March 2008 that resulted in severe burns to her face and blindness in her left eye. While her career has gone from strength-to-strength as a writer and activist as well as her work on television and radio, sadly the trolling continues.
But if Katie's latest look is anything to go by, she's not going to let those detractors win. "So excited to attend the Pride of Britain Awards and celebrate some truly inspiring people," she wrote on Instagram ahead of the event. "An evening of extraordinary stories, courage and kindness."
Fan Support and Foundation Work
Adding to her post, Katie shared several snaps taken prior to the event as she posed in a daring red flora dress complete with cutouts that teased peaks of her incredible figure. Her defiance prompted an outpouring of support from her 1.3 million followers, one of whom gushed: "You are the pride of Britain for everything you stand for. Beautiful inside and out."
A second person added: "This dress is a work of art, you look beautiful." A third agreed: "That's one of the prettiest dresses you've ever worn and you look beautiful in it." While a fourth Instagram user said: "You look so stunning, you are an inspiration."
A year after her attack, Katie founded the Katie Piper Foundation, which exists "so that no one living with burns or traumatic scarring ever feels alone". "We're the only UK charity offering a complete rehabilitation pathway beyond NHS acute care," her charity's website states. "Our mission is simple but vital: to ensure every survivor has access to lifelong support - long after the emergency has passed."
"We provide clinically led, trauma-informed rehabilitation that supports the whole person physically, emotionally and psychologically. Whether an injury is recent or decades old, we walk alongside survivors, their families, and loved ones for as long as we're needed."
