'Bridgerton' star Charithra Chandran stunned at Wimbledon. Then, the internet came for her.
“Bridgerton” Netflix star Charithra Chandran stole Andrew Garfield’s spotlight at Wimbledon after a video of her seated behind him went viral.
A fan account for Garfield posted a clip of the actor enjoying a match at Wimbledon. The attention soon turned to Chandran in the background.
“All eyes on the brown queen behind him,” one X user wrote in a post with 17 million views. “Charithra Chandran is one of the most beautiful people to exist,” another user replied.
But the replies just as quickly turned sour when the internet began picking apart Chandran’s appearance, posting side-by-side photos of her with and without makeup, calling her "mid" and accusing her of having filler and plastic surgery.
“All she did was look beautiful at Wimbledon. and now incels have decided (she) should be their next target,” one X user pointed out in a post with 5 million views. “The funny thing is that she looks stunning even in the worst pics that they could find of her,” another user replied.
Chandran’s trolls demonstrate the double bind women are faced with — if you go natural, you’re not doing enough. If you wear makeup, you’re doing too much. Either way, you can’t win.
Picking apart a woman's appearance illustrates "a sexist double standard in which women are judged over their appearance in ways that men are not," says Leora Tanenbaum, author of "Sexy Selfie Nation." It is also a way to "police" women, she adds, and "perpetuates a narrow beauty ideal that is unattainable for most, especially women of color."
The makeup vs. no makeup debate
The “unrecognizable makeup” trend has had the internet in a tizzy, with some people using makeup to complete full facial transformations. The problematic joke, “Take her swimming on the first date,” has been around for nearly a decade — it’s tossed around by men who claim that seeing a woman without makeup early on is the only way to avoid getting “bamboozled” into dating someone unattractive.
In 2021, actress Sydney Sweeney — who has often been praised for her looks — cried on Instagram Live while trending on X (then, Twitter) for “being ugly." In October 2024, Sweeney was photographed on set with a brunette curly wig, baggy clothing and no apparent makeup. Then, she was featured in an X thread with 11 million views titled “Catfish of the Year,” comparing a photo of her on a red carpet to candid paparazzi shots.
Another user came to her defense: “‘Sydney Sweeney is a catfish’ sir if you cannot recognize that a blonde woman does not wake up with jet black eyelashes and face glitter then you might be too stupid to reach.”
Many women have pushed back against criticism of makeup, arguing that makeup is “art” and not “a form of lying.”
"A beautiful woman, we’ve been taught, is beautiful naturally with no visible effort on her part," Tanenbaum says. "But we all know that it’s impossible to conform to our societal beauty ideals with no effort."
And in a digital landscape where beauty filters and apps like FaceTune are so prevalent, the perception of a “real” or "naturally beautiful" can get heavily distorted. While Chandran stunned in glam at Wimbledon, many celebrities are already pushing back against beauty norms in favor of embracing a natural look.
Pamela Anderson has made headlines over the past few years for steering away from wearing makeup.
"I'm not trying to be the prettiest girl in the room," she said in an October 2023 interview with Vogue France. "I feel like it's just freedom. It's a relief."
When criticism goes too far
When misogynists or the internet tear apart a woman's appearance, it not only leaves an emotional impact, but also opens the door for more serious consequences.
Some people who take part in the dogpiling are just bullies. But even among those who don't mean further harm, it create social acceptability around maligning women for their appearances.
"It's a short step away from discrediting them when they speak up in the face of victimization because many people ignorantly believe that no one would want to assault a woman judged to be unattractive, and therefore she must be lying," Tanenbaum says.
Contributing: Charles Trepany