An Iranian Instagram star who has been called the “corpse bride” for her extreme looks following surgery is now under arrest.
An Iranian woman who claimed to have had extensive surgery to resemble a “zombie” version of Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie has been arrested.
Tehran-based Sahar Tabar became a star through Instagram after her extreme efforts to look like Jolie.
The 22-year-old now sports hugely sunken cheeks, plumped up lips, enormous eyes and a turned-up nose. However, she has admitted that her radical look isn’t just surgery alone – make up and a fair bit of photoshopping have also taken place
The BBC reported that Tabar was arrested by Iranian authorities following complaints about her.
She is being held on charges of blasphemy, instigating violence, illegally acquiring property, insulting the country’s dress code and encouraging young people to commit corruption, the UK news organisation has said.
Tabar’s Instagram page has 14,000 followers fascinated by her transformation.
While her surgeries and make up have given her a cartoonish similarity to Jolie, she’s also been branded a “zombie” and even a “corpse bride” because of her features and heavy use of make-up.
Some commenters were taken aback by her new look: “You are not Angelina, you are a scary ghost,” said one according to The Sun.
Tabar said she had turned herself into a living artwork.
Her extreme facial features are exaggerated by makeup and digital manipulation. Many images appear to have telltale signs that the picture has been alerted and pinched to make her appear more skeletal.
Certainly pictures Tabar has posted without make-up are far less arresting.
Talking to Russian website Sputnik in 2017 she appeared to confirm Photoshop played a role in her look. Tabar also said she amped up her make-up for dramatic effect.
“Every time I publish a photo, I paint my face in an increasingly funny way,’ she said.
“It is a way of expressing yourself, a kind of art.”
“This is Photoshop and make-up. Every time I publish a photo, I paint my face in an increasingly funny way. It is a way of expressing yourself, a kind of art. My fans know that this is not my real face.
“Now I can see that I have something in common with (Angelina Jolie), but I amuse myself, and to look like someone is not my goal,” Tabar said.
The BBC has reported that Iran has cracked down on online influencers and bloggers, arresting several.
Over the weekend, Tehran released two Australian bloggers that had been behind bars.
Perth couple Mark Firkin and Jolie King returned home after three months in an Iranian prison.
The pair were imprisoned after reportedly flying a drone without a licence.
They had been documenting their journey from Australia to Britain on social media for the past two years but went silent after posting updates from Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan about three months ago.
Mr Firkin and Ms King were freed due to a prisoner swap. An Iranian academic wanted in the US was released from a Queensland prison.
Reza Dehbashi Kivi, a 38-year-old cancer researcher, was arrested in September 2018 after US authorities accused him of conspiring to export electronic military devices to Iran.
