Sick of getting unsolicited beauty tips on social media, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, rebuffed a male cosmetic surgeon’s offer to “fix” her and advised women in similar situations to embrace self-acceptance.
Frederiksen, a Social Democrat and Denmark’s second female prime minister, posted on Instagram that she had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, where she was subjected to air raid sirens, when she found a message proposing some help with her appearance.
She included a screenshot of the exchange in which the doctor, who was not identified, said he could “fix that little spot on your nose”.
Her retort was swift and pointed: “Oh no. I’m happy with my body – I really don’t need a male plastic surgeon to have an opinion about it!”
Frederiksen, who has led the EU and Nato member country since 2019 and is one of Europe’s longest-serving heads of government, said being a woman in the public eye meant regular exposure to such unwanted and superficial scrutiny.
“I’ve lost count of how many messages I’ve received over the years about my appearance,” the 48-year-old wrote. “Especially that I have ugly teeth and thin hair. That I have an ugly ‘wart’ on my nose and well-meaning advice to get some Botox.”
Frederiksen’s global profile has grown this year as she stood up to US president’s repeated claims on Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. She is also a staunch supporter of Ukraine against the Russian onslaught.
In a moment of striking candour, Frederiksen admitted annoyance with pushy beauty advice while offering her own guidance how to deal with it.
She said she did not volunteer opinions about other people’s looks and said that “I’m perfectly fine with my body – as it is when you’re a woman approaching 50.”
Frederiksen said she was fine to stay in conversation with the public on a range of topics but encouraged Danes to set the bar higher with their chosen subject matter.
“If you’re going to write to me (and you’re more than welcome to), I hope you’ll use your time to talk about something more meaningful,” she said. “Not my nose.”
Although the mean-spirited suggestions made her feel “indignant”, she said, “today, I’m sending an extra loving thought to all of you who have to put up with the ‘perfect imperfections’ we all walk around with every day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
