Have we finally reached the era of transparency with celebrity beauty treatments? On June 2, via a TikTok video, UK-based influencer Rachel Leary made a plea to Kylie Jenner, asking the entrepreneur about details of her breast augmentation. “To me, you have exactly what I want to have done,” Leary says in the video. “It’s like the most perfect natural-looking boob job ever.”
The influencer went on to question if Jenner’s results were due to implants or even a fat transfer, recognizing that celebrities typically keep this information hush-hush. “Can you just share what it is that you asked?” Leary says. Much to my surprise, and seemingly everyone else's, Jenner hopped into the comments to reveal the exact details of her surgery, including the doctor who did it. “445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle!!!!! silicone!!! garth fisher!!!” Jenner wrote, adding “Hope this helps lol.” People were in disbelief: “She actually responded?!?” one comment read. “Queen for this,” said another.
Given the cultural capital someone like Jenner holds, it’s notable that she appears to be warming up to the idea of sharing her aesthetic procedures. But her sudden openness raises a few questions: Why are celebrities still so secretive about plastic surgery? As someone who uses her body as a canvas to market products to the masses, is it fair that this is one of the first times Jenner has spoken publicly about it? And is it something she even owes her fans?
@rachleary ♬ original sound - Rachel Leary
Though some spectators are calling her response the bare minimum—someone on X, formerly known as Twitter, stated that Jenner should now open up about “her recent facelift, fillers, bbl, chin shave, upper bleph, nose jobs, lipo, etc,” none of which Jenner has confirmed or alluded to—plastic surgeons are praising Jenner for the vulnerability. “Celebrity transparency on cosmetic procedures is important because it helps people to understand what they are seeing,” board-certified plastic surgeon Bianca Molina, MD, tells me. “It also helps remove stigma around plastic surgery and can add to the overall safety of getting these procedures.”
Even with Jenner’s unexpected comment, I don’t know if we're quite there yet in terms of transparency in the beauty industry. And the more I think about it, I’m personally not quite sure if that’s something that we should be forcing celebrities to share, with one massive caveat.
What women, celebrities or otherwise, do with their bodies is never any of my business. That said, I believe it gets sticky when people like the Kardashians and Jenners constantly profit off the way that they look. “When celebrities deny having work done despite clear changes, they can lose credibility—and even some of their appeal,” board-certified plastic surgeon, Anthony Berlet, MD,, tells me. In my opinion, this becomes a question of integrity: Is transparency part of your beauty philosophy, and does that show up in both your messaging and your products you sell?
Are [celebrities] really the people we should trust to inform us about such personal, high-stakes decisions like whether to get plastic surgery?
Still, this may not be a key tenet for some consumers. Some people might just not care, which may also drive the culture of secrecy that has long shrouded conversations about aesthetic treatments. “Celebrities often stay quiet about plastic surgery because they want to maintain the illusion of natural perfection. That effortless, almost superhuman image adds to their appeal,” Berlet explains. There is often also a fear that drives this silence. “They’re scared of being judged, criticized, or seen as insecure,” he adds. “Admitting to surgery can make them feel vulnerable in an industry that praises flawlessness.”
Still, I’m not looking to Jenner to kick off a radical wave of beauty transparency among celebrities. But when they do decide to share, are these really the people we should trust to inform us about such personal, high-stakes decisions like whether to get plastic surgery?
It’s a nuanced conversation that, to me, doesn’t have a clear-cut answer. Instead, I’ve decided to take the moment for what it is: a celebrity being a girl’s girl and sharing an intimate secret with her fans. On that note, I want to make clear that a celebrity’s access to plastic surgery is much different than the average person’s. If you’re thinking of getting cosmetic work done, I implore you to make that decision for yourself, not to look like a famous person. Know and understand the risks associated with changing your body in such a dramatic way, and be sure to thoroughly vet your surgeon, whether they’ve been endorsed by your favorite star or not. Kylie Jenner can afford endless revisions to get the face and body of her dreams. The rest of us cannot. Act accordingly.
