Katie Piper has spent years refusing to let others define how she should look, but a wave of cruel comments after her latest red carpet appearance left the TV presenter visibly in tears.
Piper attended the National Television Awards in London earlier this week, where she walked the red carpet feeling confident and happy.
But days later, her phone was flooded with comments attacking her appearance at the event.
Speaking directly to the people behind the cruel remarks, the 42-year-old became emotional as she said, “I know I’m not the prettiest…”
Katie Piper’s National Television Awards attendance sparked vicious comments about her face and appearance
Justin Goff Photos/Getty Images
Katie Piper attended the event on Tuesday, September 8, joining her Loose Women co-stars for the star-studded ceremony at London’s O2 Arena.
The ITV daytime show was nominated for Best Daytime, giving Piper another reason to celebrate alongside the women she regularly appears with on television.
She walked the red carpet in a glamorous black gown and later said she felt particularly good about herself that evening.
“I felt really good. I thought I looked really nice. I felt really pretty,” Katie said in an emotional Instagram video she shared on Thursday, September 10.
The night, however, took an upsetting turn after Woman&Home shared a video featuring Piper from the red carpet.
The presenter said she woke up the following morning in a positive mood after taking her children to school, only to notice that her phone was filling up with notifications.
“My phone’s popping off,” she recalled. “Woman & Home, a lovely magazine I was on the cover of a couple of months ago, had posted a video talking to me on the red carpet.”
Piper then began reading through the comments.
“The comments are going mad. I thought, Oh, why? And it’s just endless. Like, ugh, ugh, look at her. What happened to her face?”
Piper heartbreakingly said, “I know I’m not the prettiest,” before reminding trolls that she is a real person
“Oh, she’s overdone it on the filler. Oh my God, why are we talking about the hair? The hair’s not the problem. That face, blah, blah,” Piper recalled.
Katie acknowledged that she is accustomed to criticism and that she does not usually allow comments about her appearance to affect her.
“I know I’m not beautiful. I know I don’t look like you. I know I’m not the prettiest person on your Instagram, and usually I don’t care,” she said. “This is my life. This is the life that God intended for me, and I’m living it to the full.”
“Just occasionally you just feel like, not giving up, that’s the wrong word, but just stopping it all, not putting yourself out there anymore,” she admitted, explaining how the negative remarks had affected her.
The 42-year-old also said she decided to respond directly to some of the commenters, though she later acknowledged she “made a mistake. This wasn’t the right thing to do. I started replying to them all.”
“And they’re all women. They’re all women,” Piper said. “What’s it got to do with you how I look? Why are you policing women’s appearance? What if this was even a choice? Why does it matter to you how I look?”
“You’re not just damaging me; you’re damaging every single woman that sees these comments. You’re saying to them, ‘It’s not okay to not be beautiful. It’s not okay to look different.’”
She concluded, “You’re saying to people that it’s an issue if you don’t meet beauty standards, and you are playing a part in creating a nightmare for all other women… Just be careful what world you’re creating for all of us to live in. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
The TV presenter has spent years rebuilding her life after surviving a devastating acid attack in 2008
Reacting to the video, Hannah Fernando, Editor-in-Chief of Woman&Home, addressed Katie directly with a strong response in the comments.
She wrote, “Katie. You are not only a friend of this magazine but an inspiration to us all. Your story is a masterclass in courage, dignity and resilience… I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you, deeply grateful for the generosity, warmth and honesty you bring to everything you do.”
Fernando also made it clear that the publication stood firmly behind Piper, adding, “We said it on the red carpet, and we will say it again: you are truly beautiful both inside and out.”
She concluded by condemning the harassment, writing that the magazine would “stand in absolute solidarity” with Piper and “unreservedly condemn those who choose ignorance and cruelty over empathy and kindness.”
For Katie, comments about her face carry a very different weight because her appearance was permanently changed after she survived a devastating acid attack in 2008.
At 24, she was attacked with sulfuric acid after her former boyfriend reportedly arranged for an accomplice to a**ault her on a London street.
The attack left her partially blind, with severe burns and permanent scarring across her face, chest, neck, arms, and hands.
Piper also suffered internal injuries after inhaling and swallowing some of the acid and has required ongoing medical treatment and surgery throughout her life.
Katie continues to campaign against a**se and domestic violence while advocating for women affected by trauma
In a medical journal article about her experience, she said she had undergone more than 250 operations and would continue to need medical and psychological support.
Her 2009 Channel 4 documentary, Katie: My Beautiful Face, documented her recovery and helped introduce her story to millions of viewers.
She later founded the Katie Piper Foundation to support people living with burns and traumatic scars.
Katie has since built a major career in television and publishing.
She joined the Loose Women panel in 2021, has presented Songs of Praise, written several books, and continued campaigning around burns, disfigurement, confidence, and body image.
She was awarded an OBE in 2021 for her outstanding services to charity.
Away from television, Piper is married to Richard Sutton, with whom she has two daughters, Belle and Penelope.
Through her advocacy, she provides life-changing resources to trauma survivors while pushing for greater accountability from institutions and media platforms.
“Sad that of all the things this woman had to endure, online hate can diminish her. She is a beautiful, courageous woman,” one user wrote
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