‘It never fully went away, and neither did my insecurities’: People think influencer known for facial scar is faking it for clout
Gaining notoriety for her viral lip-syncing videos, TikToker Annie Bonelli (@wtmab) garnered praise from viewers for proudly flaunting a thin, diagonal scar across her cheek.
However, others voiced their suspicions about whether or not her scar is real or just a ploy to set herself apart from the oversaturated community of lip-syncing accounts on the app, citing dramatic changes in the size, color, and placement of the scar. Viewers dubbed Bonelli "scar girl," and #scargirl has garnered over 361.5 million views as of Jan. 24.
TikToker and Twitch Streamer Aaurie (@aauriettv) is just one of several influencers to do a deep dive into Bonelli's scar progression.
In a TikTok, she says she scrolled through Bonelli's TikTok to March 2021, showing a screenshot of a thin, red cut across her cheek.
Fast-forward to May 2022, a screenshot shows the scar tilting further vertically and extending toward her jawline. In the final image from September 2022, the scar appears thicker and dark brown and is almost completely vertical, with a much harsher curve.
However, Aaurie says she applauds Bonelli for "taking advantage of something that she got popular for" but still maintains that she's "trolling" for views.
@aauriettv curiosity 💀 the cat I guess. again, no hate to her, I think she’s very smart for capitalizing on this. I just wanna share what I found; pls don’t be hateful toward her for just trolling. #greenscreen #scargirl #fakescar #wtmab #fakescargirl ♬ original sound - aauriettv
Another TikToker, Sophie (@sophiethetrophy_) shows her own healing progress pictures from a facial injury she sustained from an operation in October 2019, pointing out that scars typically "turn white over time."
"Ur faces tend to heal a lot faster than other areas," she wrote in the caption. "Not trying to be a bully but its just hard to believe when ive seen what the healing process on your face looks like."
@sophiethetrophy_ scars turn white over time. our faces tend to heal a lot faster than other areas. not trying to be a bully but its just hard to believe when ive seen what the healing process on your face looks like #scargirl #scargirlexposed #facescar ♬ original sound - sophie
In response to the speculation, Bonelli posted a video of her attempting to wipe off her scar with a makeup wipe to prove that the dark brown hue isn't special effects makeup. In the caption, she opened up about sustaining the original injury during a domestic violence incident in 2020.
@wtmab hey guys, originally in March of 2020 when I was injured and realized that this would be a permanent mark on my face forever I was embarrassed. I was so upset that I thought my face was ruined as insecure as I was already at 15 navigating highschool. I felt like the opportunity to look at myself in the mirror and smile was taken away from me because of a cruel situation. It was until one day that I realized that covering my scar and openly hating it was a disservice to those close to me and myself suffering from insecurities. While I decided not to cover it for those reasons it never fully went away and neither did my insecurities because when I looked in the mirror I saw the reason behind why it was there. Unfortunately I had a poor reaction to the first topical I tried in an attempt to fade it. I was sloppy applying it as well and this led to a longer injury. I was in a dark place knowing that it was now even worse. I had to wait til that fully healed to start a second treatment which I began in august. Since then, this treatment has been super invasive and I cannot emphasize the pain directed around that injury. It’s at a point where it genuinely does look gross, it has risen and it’s scabbed over. I also did not think about how tanner would get in the scabbed area when I did it. It should get better with time but unfortunately all of my scars do still heal brown. While I don’t think it’s right that people mindlessly comment hate for whatever reason it is, I do make a decision to put myself out on the internet. My account was made to show those out there, they’re more than their scars. Not to have a comment section showing those same people they should hate themselves because of their scars. I’ll never stop using my platform for DV awareness and body positivity. I hope this video is what y’all need to move on or at least understand. No one should make a comment on someone’s scars, especially not knowing the history behind that scar or the person on the screen. If anyone ever needs to talk my dms are open, I would love to listen to your stories and hype y’all up. I promise I hear u and I see u. Thank you and I hope y’all will move with grace in the future.
♬ MEAN! (Remix) [with Noah Kahan] - Madeline The Person
"It never fully went away, and neither did my insecurities because when I looked in the mirror I saw the reason behind why it was there. Unfortunately, I had a poor reaction to the first topical I tried in an attempt to fade it. I was sloppy applying it as well and this led to a longer injury," Bonelli explains, detailing the reason behind the change in color.
She continues that she started another "super invasive" treatment in August and didn't realize that self-tanner would react with the treatment.
"It should get better with time, but unfortunately all of my scars do still heal brown. While I don’t think it’s right that people mindlessly comment hate for whatever reason it is, I do make a decision to put myself out on the internet," the caption reads. "I’ll never stop using my platform for DV awareness and body positivity."
After she shared more details about her scar treatment process, several viewers came to her defense, pointing to popular treatments that may explain Bonelli's ever-changing scar.
In a video posted by TikToker Lucy (@sapphicsertraline), they say that scar treatments like TCA or garlic ointment can cause burns to the skin, showing screenshots of treatment burns that have turned brown—strikingly similar to Bonelli's scar.
@sapphicsertraline THE GIRL WITH THE BROWN SCAR IS TELLING THE TRUTH
♬ original sound - lucy
The Daily Dot was able to contact Bonelli via email, but she did not respond to additional questions about her scar or viewer speculations.
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