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Who is TikTok’s ‘Scar Girl’ and why do users think she’s a fake?

Getting to the bottom of TikTok's biggest mystery.

Screengrabs via @ConstantTea, @AnnBonelli, and @BFFsPod on TikTok

For years now, people have been speculating on TikTok about Annie Bonelli and her infamous scar.

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It seems that every six months, the controversy arises once again.

Annie initially went viral in 2021 for a pink scar she had going down her cheek. She went viral for her scar and its placement but mostly because people thought the way it rested on her cheek looked cute or cool.

Initially, the scar appeared to be slowly fading, and as it di, her videos went less and less viral. Eventually, people began to notice that the scar seemed to have reappeared in the form of a thick red line, and eventually, a thick brown line.

@everycraft

Cały timeline możecie zobaczyć na koncie @emma_2482 jako serię zdjęć #scargirl #drama

♬ Hip Hop with impressive piano sound(793766) – Dusty Sky

The sudden shift in the appearance of her scar tissue led people to begin to speculate as to whether or not she had begun drawing on her scar for attention. Amidst a lot of speculation, she made videos trying to prove to doubters that she hadn’t drawn it on.

This included wiping the scar with makeup wipes, scrubbing it with a Q-tip, and washing her face.

@bffspod

After accusations that she fake removed her scar, has Scar Girl had anyone else try?

♬ original sound – BFFs Pod

Dave Portnoy of Barstool and Josh Richards talked to Annie about this controversy on his BFFs Podcast. They pointed out that in one particular video, she attempts to wipe the scar with a Q-tip but eagle-eyed viewers zoomed in and noticed that the head of the Q-tip missed the scar entirely.

But, they also noted that no one who knows her in real life has ever come onto the internet saying that she doesn’t actually have the scar or that she’s faking it. No matter what they threw at her, as Portnoy pointed out, she had an answer or defense for everything.

@doctoryoun

Is the Scar Girl’s scar REAL or SUS? Thank you @wtmab for spreading scar awareness and the fact scars don’t take away from anyone’s beauty! #scars #scargirl #scargirlannie #scar #keloid

♬ Roxanne – Instrumental – Califa Azul

The speculation even reached medical professionals on TikTok. Dr. Youn, a holistic plastic surgeon, chimed in with his thoughts on Annie’s scar after his audience asked him for his opinion.

According to Dr. Youn, scars for caucasian people typically fade from a wound to a thick pink line to a thin scar lighter than the surrounding skin. But they also can be wide or even become slightly raised above the skin. He noted that older videos of Annie’s scar look realistic, whereas newer ones don’t look like anything he’s encountered as a doctor.

@annbonelli

hey guys, originally in March of 2020 when I was injured and realized that this would be a permanent mark on my face forever I was embarrassed. I was so upset that I thought my face was ruined as insecure as I was already at 15 navigating highschool. I felt like the opportunity to look at myself in the mirror and smile was taken away from me because of a cruel situation. It was until one day that I realized that covering my scar and openly hating it was a disservice to those close to me and myself suffering from insecurities. While I decided not to cover it for those reasons it never fully went away and neither did my insecurities because when I looked in the mirror I saw the reason behind why it was there. Unfortunately I had a poor reaction to the first topical I tried in an attempt to fade it. I was sloppy applying it as well and this led to a longer injury. I was in a dark place knowing that it was now even worse. I had to wait til that fully healed to start a second treatment which I began in august. Since then, this treatment has been super invasive and I cannot emphasize the pain directed around that injury. It’s at a point where it genuinely does look gross, it has risen and it’s scabbed over. I also did not think about how tanner would get in the scabbed area when I did it. It should get better with time but unfortunately all of my scars do still heal brown. While I don’t think it’s right that people mindlessly comment hate for whatever reason it is, I do make a decision to put myself out on the internet. My account was made to show those out there, they’re more than their scars. Not to have a comment section showing those same people they should hate themselves because of their scars. I’ll never stop using my platform for DV awareness and body positivity. I hope this video is what y’all need to move on or at least understand. No one should make a comment on someone’s scars, especially not knowing the history behind that scar or the person on the screen. If anyone ever needs to talk my dms are open, I would love to listen to your stories and hype y’all up. I promise I hear u and I see u. Thank you and I hope y’all will move with grace in the future.

♬ MEAN! (with Noah Kahan) [Remix] – Madeline The Person

For the most part, the origin of the scar remained mysterious. She never likes to address how exactly she got it or where it was from, but when speculation and bullying got to an all-time high in 2023, Annie Bonelli posted a video once again trying to prove her scar is real and captioning the TikTok her feelings, when she got the scar, and how she’d been treated because of it.

She explained that the scar had taken a lot of her self-confidence away at 15 and prolonged treatments to have it removed or faded had given her chemical burns or made it worse. But she decided not embracing it and openly loving herself would be a disservice to her and the people who know her.

She emphasized the importance of not commenting on or speculating about scars when you don’t know where they’re from. She also noted her ongoing mission to spread awareness for domestic violence (which some fans believe is the origin of the scar) and body positivity.

Commenter consensus theory is that the scar was real at one point, but that she began drawing it back on or over-exaggerating it to gain traction and popularity.

Ava Grimes made a simple video addressing how unfair it feels that this girl is getting attention, likes, and fame from her more aesthetically pleasing scar or, in some people’s eyes, from faking a scar altogether. She stitched a video of Annie wiping the scar off of her face, captioning it “I’ve never hated someone so much in my life,” and displaying facial scars that she got from being kicked in the face by a horse.

Recently, fans have noticed that Annie’s scar is once again fading and seems to be gone altogether despite being very dark and prominent just a year ago.

She said that she’d always been really good at covering it with concealer, and she’d stopped doing crazy treatments and remedies, letting the scar tissue rest. According to Annie, it’s still really dark but it’s looking better, and she always has it covered now.

She also noted that she had gotten fed up with people who didn’t know her calling her “Scar Girl,” and constantly being reminded of a traumatic moment in her life.

Still, people aren’t buying her story and while most have moved on from the “Scar Girl” storyline, as has Annie, she still gets comments from people calling her a liar and saying that she finally gave up on her story.

Evidence feels stacked against either side and anyone who has an opinion is firm on their side of the argument, but the heat has died down and it looks like only Annie will ever know the truth.