There’s no dancing around this hot mess so I’m just going to get straight to it: model Carissa Pinkston is getting absolutely dragged for coming out as transgender despite NOT being transgender to counterbalance previous transphobic comments she made.
Did you get all that? It’s a lot. Let me break it down a bit more.
Carissa Pinkston is a model for Savage x Fenty and Marc Jacobs. This is her:
In May, Carissa said a bunch of transphobic stuff on Facebook under the alias ‘Rissa Danielle’ and really peeved people off (understandably so).
Despite being posted on her private Facebook profile, the posts were screenshotted and shared online.
It took Carissa two months and being dropped by her modelling agency for her to speak out about the comments. Well, kind of.
Instead of apologising, which would have been the acceptable thing to do, Carissa then took to Instagram to “come out” as a transgender woman. Except… she isn’t.
“I wasn’t ready to come out about it yet, but today I got fired and I’ve been receiving hate mail and death threats ever since, so I’m being forced to tell the truth. I’m transgender. I transitioned at a very young age and I’ve lived my life as a female ever since. It’s been very hard to keep this secret but what I said about trans-women is a direct reflection of my inner insecurities and I have since come to realize that I am a Woman…WE ALL ARE!,” Carrisa’s post read.
People quickly called B.S.
When she was outed Carissa then took to Instagram to explain herself, saying she only lied to get people to stop sending her hate.
“I apologize for any transphobic remark I’ve ever made towards the trans community. I panicked and I thought if I came out as trans that I could somehow make things better for myself, but it appears I’ve only made things worse. I’m truly sorry. I’m only 20 and I’m human. I make mistakes but I refuse to let them define me. I hope you all can forgive me and move on from this because I’m so much more than this incident and I’m not a coward,” she wrote.
All posts Carissa shared have since been deleted. But deletion does not equal forgiveness, and people are definitely not forgiving or forgetting Carissa’s comments any time soon.
Her claims and general mindset are problematic for herself, for the people who idolise her, and for the transgender community. At just 20-years-old she’s already tarnished her modelling career. I won’t say she’s destroyed it forever – she’s young, has a lot to learn, and people will definitely still sign her – but her reputation has taken a hit.
Carissa’s comments and general mindset are problematic for herself, for the people who idolise her, and for the transgender community. Negativity is never constructive.
I just hope she takes the opportunity to learn from her mistakes and be better.