Beauty doctor apologizes for upsetting singer in video

A plastic surgeon who faced backlash for a video criticizing pop star Troye Sivan’s appearance says he “feels bad” for upsetting the singer but will continue to post.

London-based Dr Zayn Khalid Majeed released a two-minute video drawing attention to the 30-year-old’s “problem” areas after attending a recent event in Australia.

Fans criticized the “unsolicited” suggestion, and the singer himself responded with a post explaining how the video triggered his long-standing body insecurities.

Majeed told BBC Newsbeat that since deleting the video and contacting Sivan to apologize, he will work to have a more positive impact through his content.

Sivan’s career began in his early teens and he is considered by many to be the poster boy for the “twink” look.

The term refers to a young, slender gay man with a boyish appearance, and Sivan’s image appears prominently in Google search results and on Wikipedia’s definition page.

In the video, Majid compared studio photos of the singer to recent red carpet interview footage, with Majid saying Sivan seemed to be showing signs of “twin death.”

The plastic surgeon, who has more than 250,000 followers across various platforms, pointed out several “problem areas” on the singer’s face, such as shadows and “volume loss.”

He then imagined a scenario in which Sivan was his patient and listed various cosmetic “improvements” he could choose from, including skin enhancers and dermal fillers.

People on social media and Sivan’s fans criticized Majeed for his “unsolicited” advice on how to “re-make-up” herself.

Later the singer himself also participated, Publish on the blogging platform Substack About how the video exacerbated his insecurities and prompted him to consider plastic surgery.

“I have struggled with my body image for a long time in my life, as I’m sure most everyone has experienced at one point or another,” he wrote. “What good is money and modern medicine if it can’t fix this random…all these flaws my plastic surgeon told me about?”

Newsbeat contacted Majeeed, who said Sivan’s response was “extremely raw and vulnerable”.

“I felt terrible and I never meant for him to feel that way, which is why I apologized directly to him,” he said.

Majeed deleted the videos from his TikTok and Instagram, and Sivan later updated his blog to say there was “no resentment on[his]part.”

The doctor admitted he could “see how it happened”.

Majeed said he started creating content to “educate and inform” people, but started talking about celebrities because audiences seemed to like it.

“For every celebrity video I make, I make five chat educational videos,” he said.

However, given Sivan’s situation, he said he didn’t want to contribute to the “negative beauty standards” people face.

“I have a voice and I need to use it to better shape the conversation so that we are more body positive and accept that aging is a natural process,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t realize the impact you can have.”

However, Majeed said he will continue to make videos analyzing famous faces because he believes people are interested in them.

“It’s important to demystify celebrity surgery and educate patients,” he said.

Samantha Rizzo, a “skin positivity” content creator in New York, said she sees benefits in posts that seek to “showcase” cosmetics or provide more information.

“I would appreciate it if you used your client and they agreed with their before, during and after photos,” she told Newsbeat. “I feel a little sick when they just take pictures of celebrities.

“Just because they’re famous doesn’t give you the right to separate them.”

Rizzo, 26, had Botox injected into his chin in hopes of relieving pain and migraines after watching the video online. But it left her with limited facial movement, something she says she regrets doing.

In hindsight, she believes her insecurities were caused by the content she “consumed.”

“What you see can seriously distort your view of yourself, forcing you to make decisions like this,” she said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Keelin Moncrieff, an Irish-born social media personality, said she was concerned about the availability of information about various surgeries and their impact on young people.

The mother told Newsbeat she understands some creators may try to be “transparent” about any work they do, but she thinks it could become an endorsement of therapy.

“People can’t compensate or fill in the gaps that they can’t see behind the scenes,” she said. “People think it’s a simple process.”

Moncrief, 28, also said being online can bring with it unwanted comments about your appearance – something she’s experienced too.

“I remember one time I got a comment saying my hands were really wrinkled,” she recalled. “It’s something I never thought about.”

When it came to the surgical change, though, her mind was made up.

“I often look in the mirror and think: ‘Oh, I can accomplish this, I can accomplish this,'” she said.

“I would find that disturbing. I don’t want to be held to those standards.”

Correction: The headline and first paragraph of this story previously described Dr. Zayn Khalid Majeed as a plastic surgeon. It has been updated to reflect the fact that he is registered with the General Medical Council as a doctor rather than a surgeon.

Listen to news updates live Weekdays 12:45 and 17:45 – or tune in here.