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Days ahead of the premiere of her newest Hallmark movie, “The Professional Bridesmaid,” actress Hunter King has slammed claims from social media followers that she uses lip fillers, calling the comments on her most recent Instagram post “hurtful” and “rude.” Hallmark colleagues and loved ones have come to King’s defense, including actor Ben Hollingsworth, who was so taken aback by the criticism that he wrote a lengthy response and replied to multiple people directly in the comment section of her post.
On April 1, 2023, King posted a selfie and wrote, “Tried the white eyeliner hack … still look tired.” The technique has become a trend since a February Vogue article declared white eyeliner to be the “secret to awakening tired eyes.”
But looking tired was not what intrigued King’s 668,000 Instagram followers. Instead, many claimed her lips looked more swollen than usual and criticized her for getting lip filler injections. Used to plump lips and reduce signs of aging, the Cleveland Clinic reports lip fillers are an increasingly common cosmetic procedure in the U.S.
In response to the backlash, King was adamant that she does not use fillers. But she, Hollingsworth, and others who stood up for her said that even if she did choose to undergo a cosmetic procedure, it wouldn’t be appropriate for anyone to comment on it — especially so negatively.
Hunter King Tells Critics to ‘Keep Your Negative Comments to Yourself’
While some fans praised King’s photo, many were quick to critique her look and assume she’d cosmetically altered her lips.
“OMG. Stop with the lip fillers. It looks ridiculous,” one wrote, while another commented, “tired of celebrities lying about getting work done. We’re not dumb”
Another person wrote, “You are are naturally beautiful and only 29. Dont get caught up with injections etc…. stop now before you are unrecognizable.”
King responded to that comment, “don’t have any fillers. My lips are just extra swollen in the mornings. That’s all💕”
For King, waking up with swollen lips is something she’s so used to, so she thought nothing of posting a morning photo of herself on social media. In fact, the condition may be hereditary.
Her mom, Jamie King, commented on the post, “Extra puffy morning lips! Why do us King ladies wake up so puffy?”
According to Buoy Health, there are many reasons for lips swelling overnight, including a condition called hereditary angioedema, caused when “individuals are born lacking certain proteins produced by the body that are important for maintaining the integrity of blood vessel walls, causing them to be predisposed to swelling of the lips and mouth.”
King’s boyfriend, Andy McNeil, also jumped into her post’s comment section to clap back at the critics and assure her followers it’s a common occurrence.
“LOL, relax, internet trolls,” he wrote. “I wake up next to her every morning, and this is a common thing! She’s gorgeous even when her lips get swollen. And spoiler alert to all the medical experts leaving comments about fillers — the swelling goes down an hour or so after waking up, calm down.”
Makeup artist Britlyn Gordon also responded to someone who told King “it’s obvious you got fillers along with lots of actresses.”
Gordon wrote, “hahahahaha I’m dead at this comment 😂 I have seen Hunter in the early morning during filming and I must say THOSE ARE HER NATURAL AND VERY BEAUTIFUL LIPS 😏😏😏😏”
According to SheKnows, Hunter addressed the haters by issuing a response via her Instagram Stories, which disappear after 24 hours.
“After my last post and all the negative comments, I just wanted to address something,” she wrote. “No, I don’t have any lip filler, but even if I did, I don’t think that people should feel so comfortable commenting such rude things about people’s appearance. Keep your negative comments to yourself.”
“I don’t know who raised people to think it’s OK to spew such negativity,” she continued. “It’s rude. And it’s hurtful. I personally don’t get lip filler — my lips are just extra swollen in the mornings for some reason? But for anyone who does, good for you! Do what makes you happy! And for the love of god, can we all just be kind? The world needs more of that. That’s all. Rant over.”
Hallmark Colleagues Defend Hunter King on Instagram Post
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Heavy/HallmarkHallmark stars Benjamin Hollingsworth, Hunter King, Eliza Hayes Maher
Some of King’s fans stood up for the actress in the comment section of her Instagram post, and Hallmark colleagues offered their support, too.
Beau Michoff and Noemi Gozalez liked her post and Eliza Hayes Maher, who last appeared in Hallmark’s “Haul Out the Holly,” wrote, “If one more person comes for you so help me gawd.”
Meanwhile, actor Ben Hollingsworth, who starred with King’s dear friend — and “Nikki & Nora: Sister Sleuths” co-star — Rhiannon Fish in 2022’s “A Splash of Love,” not only wrote a lengthy response, clapping back at all of the comments, but individually replied to many of King’s critics, requesting that they stop commenting on other people’s appearance.
“Why a grown man… or woman feels the need to go to out of their way to comment on a WOMAN’s body blows my mind,” he began his main response. “Who raised you and where is your decency? My parents taught me to be respectful of women and their bodies. I hope anyone who didn’t think twice before commenting on a personal IG page, can open their eyes and start to understand the damage these kinds of comments can have.”
Hollingsworth continued, “Even if you are considered to be beautiful – it doesn’t mean it’s open season to make hurtful or judgmental comments about their image or physic. Imagine if you had a daughter – imagine for a second – another grown man or woman unsolicitedly negatively commenting on her body. 😡 pls regardless of how strongly you feel about something ask yourself “Will this cause harm and would I want my child to have to endure something like this?” @hunterking has a beautiful soul and if you are ever lucky enough to meet her you’d understand why I’m so enraged by these comments.”
King replied, “🥺 thank you friend. Your kids are lucky to have a dad like you!”
King co-stars with Chandler Massey in the new Hallmark Channel movie “The Professional Bridesmaid,” premiering on April 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.