"Girl On Fire" singer Alicia Keys, 35, has caused controversy by choosing to keep away from wearing makeup in public and at public engagements. Keys' most recent appearance at the MTV VMA awards makeup free has set Twitter ablaze with claims the singer is part of an anti-makeup movement.
The "No One" singer is another high-profile star to withstand the entertainment industry's beauty standards of increasing pressure for perfection, the Independent reported. Of recent times, plus-size models and high profile figures in music and film have called out publications for resorting to touching up images.
For Keys, the no-makeup movement was explained in an essay she wrote for the newsletter Lenny. The "Fallin" singer elaborated on her decision as saying to-date that it has been an empowering one.
In the self-penned essay for the feminist newsletter, Keys referred to her own experiences of being a woman and being judged for her appearance. She went on to add that in the "harsh, judgemental world of entertainment," everybody she met had an opinion about her appearance.
Keys wrote that she worried every time she left the house without make-up she felt insecure. She said she feared being photographed as less than glamorous and feared being constantly judged.
"One of the many things I was tired of was the constant judgment of women," Keys wrote in the newsletter. She revealed that while she used meditation and other techniques to get over her insecurities, it was a makeup free photo-shoot that helped her overcome her fears.The photographs from the shoot were used as part of the art work for her newest single.
"The strongest, most empowered, most free and most honestly beautiful that I have ever felt," Keys noted in the essay about the photo-shoot. Ever since then the singer has been frequently photographed makeup-free.
Publications such as Fault and Vanity Fair have all extended opportunities for Keys to pose in their pages makeup free. Furthermore, Keys wrote in the essay that she hopes this new found sense of empowerment would become a "revolution."
Meanwhile, followers on social media were not as happy with the Grammy Award-winning singer's new sense of empowerment. Some took shots at her no makeup appearance at the MTV VMAs. However, Keys was undeterred and explained on her official Twitter account that she was not anti-makeup.
The make-up free revolution has also been supported by stars such as Cameron Diaz and Eva Longoria and Gwyneth Paltrow. Each of whom has posted make-up free selfies on their official social media accounts to lend support to the movement.
Watch Keys' moving speech at the VMAs:
Y'all, me choosing to be makeup free doesn't mean I'm anti-makeup. Do you!