Carrie Underwood performed at the ACM Awards for the first time since her injury

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Carrie Underwood has been criticized for meting out photos following a facial injury she suffered at home last November. Her rollout of pictures and personal stories has shown how strategically she controls her image. Up until this weekend she hasn’t posted a full photo of her face, nor has she been “caught” out by the paparazzi. After some profile shots and faraway photos, she felt confident enough to show her face from the front in one shot (the other is from far away) and I can’t see a difference. I’m sure she’s self conscious about it but you can’t really tell that she’s had more than 40 stitches, nor can you really see a scar. Here’s one of the photos she shared. The one above was taken at the ACM Awards last night.

This was a preview for her performance of her new single, “Cry Pretty,” at the ACM Awards last night. As I mentioned in our last story about Carrie, I was surprised how much I liked that song. It’s an empowerment ballad that’s catchy and affecting, and she absolutely nailed it last night. I’m having a hard time finding video of her performance, but JustJared had this clip, which is below. (It’s small but you can see it in full screen.) This doesn’t capture the part where she sang her heart out. Carrie puts it all out there and that’s part of the reason why she’s a star.

As you can see in the photos, you can’t really see a difference in her face. I’m sure there’s plenty of makeup involved, and likely some reconstruction work we haven’t heard about, but she doesn’t look much different at all. It’s got to have been a difficult journey and here she is, having created some of her best music.

Right after Carrie’s performance she won the Vocal Event of The Year award for her work with Keith Urban on “The Fighter.” Carrie had to walk on from backstage to accept it. During their speech Keith told Carrie she knocked it out of the park. She had been crying but it was hard to tell because she had on glitter makeup under her eyes. She thanked all their fans and just seemed so grateful.

At some point Carrie is going to do an in depth interview, I would assume with a camera crew there and not for print, about everything she went through. Yes she looks the same to us but she dealt with a lot and she’ll want to tell her story on her terms. I bet that will coincide with the release of her album, the date for which has not yet been announced.

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65 Responses to “Carrie Underwood performed at the ACM Awards for the first time since her injury”

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  1. CTgirl says:

    I suspect that she sees huge differences where we see very little difference. Facial injuries can be hard to deal with.

  2. Alix says:

    I happened to tune in to the show just as she was finishing her song, and the place went nuts, giving her a several-minute standing ovation.

    Makeup is hiding any scars completely, far as I can tell. But she seems to be hedging her bets with eye makeup that’s even heavier than usual, and those Real Housewife extensions.

  3. lobstah says:

    Okay but do we know why the injury happened? The not just the PR version?

    • dodgy says:

      Preach @lobstah. I know people will say it’s none of our business (point), but she’s made the performance of injury and getting over it so extra, I’m wondering what the real deal is.

    • KBB says:

      I know a lot of people think domestic violence, but I think it’s more likely she just had too much to drink – if there even is more to the story.

      • Isa says:

        I think on the last post, people established her husband was out of town.

      • Emily says:

        People established her husband was out of town…because when she announced the injury, she made a point to say he was out of town (doing what?) and rushed back to be with her when it happened.

        This whole thing has been fishy to me, but I suspect alcohol.

    • Belle Epoch says:

      LOBSTAH that’s what everyone wants to know! There’s so much drama about this, especially now, with 10,000 “Carrie reveals her (perfect) face” articles. Part of the problem is that everyone uses stairs as an excuse, so it always sounds fake.

      • Kelly says:

        And see, the stairs thing wouldn’t have even sounded fishy if she had been “I broke my wrist and cut my face really badly,” from the get-go. It’s the fact that the second half of that came so long after the fall. Which is why I think it was a cover story to explain away some plastic surgery she wasn’t pleased with.

      • lucy2 says:

        Stairs are the worst though – I felt down mine last year and had a major injury, and know several others who have done the same. If you fall the wrong way you can really mess yourself up.
        It’s possible she didn’t talk about the facial injuries publicly because it was traumatic for her, and she didn’t want to discuss it until she was on the road to recovery.

      • Another Anne says:

        Yeah, I know someone who fell down the stairs and broke her arm badly, requiring surgery and a year of PT. There are many legit stair injuries.

  4. yanni says:

    This whole thing was so totally ridiculous. She looks absolutely the same.

  5. Sam the Pink says:

    I’m glad she’s back and that the reception is positive.

    It can be really hard, I think, especially on women, to have something happen that impacts your appearance. Last year I had a very serious illness that, due to stress and treatment-related issues, resulted in the loss of a good portion of my hair. I knew intellectually that it was a “vanity” issue, but I was taken aback by how lousy I felt and how I wanted to stay inside. It sucks! And what didn’t help was people saying “oh, it’s just your hair, it’s not like it’s serious.” But especially when we judge by appearance so much, it certainly feels like a big deal. So I’m glad she’s back.

  6. Casi says:

    Am I the only one that sees a dent in her head by her right temple? Is that just lighting? I did not watch last night so I haven’t seen anything but these photos.

  7. Mel M says:

    Now that I can see her while face it looks like there is a scar on her top lip almost in the center. That’s all I can see though. Splitting your lip just a little is painful and the swelling can be crazy from a small injury so who knows what kind of damage was done. I’m happy for her that she got out there and killed it.

    • Goats on the Roof says:

      I also think something happened in the top lip area. For one, she shared a pic recently with most of her face visible except the mouth. Two, the top lip looks a lot different. If it were a case of regrettable fillers she could have had them dissolved by now, so I think that’s the most likely place for the scarring.

    • imqrious2 says:

      To my eyes, there looks to be a horizontal scar across her left cheek (following her nostril). But who knows. She just made such a big deal about how she “may not look the same”; while she may’ve gotten hurt, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was partially a cover for some facial work, too. *¯\_(ツ)_/¯*. Whatev…. her face, her business… It just bugs me when actors/tresses, singers, etc. think the public is too stupid to figure it out.

  8. Carol says:

    What is going on with the second to the last picture? Carrie looks possessed.

  9. KBB says:

    I figured she was probably making it a lot bigger in her head when that fan said she looked exactly the same when she met her at the gym. I did assume there’d be some visible scarring, but I honestly cannot tell where the stitches would have even been.

  10. Ladybird83 says:

    It more or less feels like an exaggerated publicity stunt. No one can see a difference but her.

    You know who has a right to be dramatic over facial disfigurement? Actress Taylor Hickson, if you haven’t heard of what happen to her while making a movie google it.

    • Goats on the Roof says:

      First, you don’t get to police how someone feels about a facial injury and assign someone the “right” to be upset. If Carrie feels self-conscious, those are her feelings and she’s entitled to them.

      Second…has Carrie ever been guilty of publicity stunts? Promotion and interviews to be sure, but never stunts. She hasn’t needed to. She has a large fan base that turns out for her concerts and buys her albums.

      • Oliviajoy1995 says:

        I agree. She’s not known for publicity stunts of any kind. It kind of looks like she has a small scar on her left cheek. I don’t think she had any facial work done that she’s trying to cover for, I think it was a legit accident. Her wrist or arm was sprained really bad too so I definitely think she did fall. Whether alcohol was involved or not who knows. But I’m glad she’s back to performing again.

  11. broodytrudy says:

    She’s been having nose work done over the last few years, and you can definitely see it here. I’m still in the plastic surgery camp and honestly this has just become exhausting.

    • Alix says:

      Anyone else think she’s had her breasts done, too?

    • angie0717 says:

      I think she went thru a windshield to need 50+ stitches. No seatbelt, alcohol, whatever the situation would explain why this has been SO emotional for her. A fall? Pls, no one is that grateful after a fall, we all just feel stupid when we fall even when we’re hurt. The only difference I see in her face is that it’s frozen. She has that plastic surgery look to her. And maybe new boobs? I dunno

      • Ninks says:

        I suffered a facial injury as a result of a freak accident that required 42 stitches. I’ve had a scar my whole life. Guess what, a scar that size on your face can be a lot to process and make you very emotional. But I am very grateful because it came so close to my eye and my jugular vein and missed both. A couple of centimeters either way and I would be either blind or dead. I can hate the scar and be very grateful that it wasn’t worse.

      • lucy2 says:

        I fell on my stairs and did feel stupid as it was totally preventable, but I was also extremely grateful and still am – could have been a lot worse. Same for my family member who fell down hers a while back – she had a major injury, but could have have had head trauma or broken her neck or back. She’s still grateful it wasn’t worse too.
        Maybe we should let people feel how they feel?

  12. Alexandria says:

    It seems like she split her lips and broke her nose. Regardless! I’m not a fan but I support her healing and hope she gets stronger. Yes, at the same time there could be some PR at work but I’m going to support women who at least have talent.

  13. LNG says:

    Facial injuries are rough. I had an injury to my forehead/eyebrow area that needed more than 20 stitches to repair over 8 years ago and it is still the first thing I see every time I look in the mirror. The skin on your face never heals quite the same way and the scars take forever to truly fade. Even now I have to be really careful in the sun, because the area where the scar is burns SO quickly.

    It’s even worse if the injury is in an expressive area of the face. It somehow never moves quite the same way again (and I can still feel the scar when I move my forehead/eyebrow). What seems like nothing to you may be devastating to her, especially when she knows people will be examining her face in excruciating detail. My scar can be hidden with makeup, but it’s always there. Try to have some compassion.

    • Chaine says:

      ITA. I had an accident as a teenager that caused a puncture injury on my face clear into my mouth. It was not large per se but there was raised, discolored scarring that was very visible and I would wear heavy makeup for years and always felt very-self conscious. When I would look into the mirror it was always the first thing I saw. Over 30 years it has not so much faded, as the normal aging of the skin (wrinkling/spots) has made the scar less noticeable. So I don’t worry about the heavy concealer any more, just normal foundation.

      • LNG says:

        I think people underestimate the impact of an injury or scar that you can’t hide under clothing! You can always feel people’s eyes darting to it when talking to you (whether they actually are or not!)

        I can’t imagine being Carrie and knowing that people would engage in exactly the speculation seen in the comments of this post – nose job? face lift? domestic violence? alcohol?

    • Mel M says:

      I’m so sorry this happened to you. I can totally understand what you’re saying since I think everyone focuses on what they think is their worst flaw whenever they look at themselves. I know I do.

      My 2 1/2 yo daughter fell about two months ago and got a deep vertical cut on her forehead. By the time I got her to the doctor, a few hours later, she just put a steri strip on it and said it was already healing nicely and only would’ve glued it if we go there sooner. Well it’s still there and when she looks up and crinkles her forehead it makes an indent and doesn’t move the same as the other skin. When I touch it you can feel the hard tissue under it. It reminds me of how my c section scar feels. I feel so bad and really hope it fades since she’s so young. Thanks for the info about the sun though, I will for sure be putting a hat on her and lots of sunscreen on that area especially.

      • ORIGINAL T.C. says:

        @Mel M,

        For your 2 1/2 year old, there is Mederma for kids (it’s one of the only scientifically proven treatments for scars) you can use. Also using Australia Emui oil (expensive but really good and absorbs well) and one of those Vitamin E sticks from Walmart as moisturizer twice a day will help decrease the scar and make the skin supple. No harmful chemicals.

        It takes patience and being consistent but I’ve seen it work on kids. The problem is some parents just stop after a few months or the forget to do it. It should be as routine as pushing her teeth. And ditto on avoiding direct sun contact. When she’s a little older, Daily sunscreen (kids version). Your Pediatric dermatologist can give you samples to try.

      • Mel M says:

        @ Original T.C.- Thank you so much for all of this info! I’ve been putting frankenscense oil on it because I was told that would help. I have it for my daughter that has epilepsy because it’s helps with seizures. I am very used to doing daily treatments because of my daughter with special needs so I will try and implement this ASAP and keep it up for the foreseeable future.

      • LNG says:

        I’m so sorry to hear about your little girl’s accident! Luckily, young skin seems to respond to treatment and heal much better than older skin. I have a scar on my chin from a childhood injury (seems I didn’t grow out of the clumsiness!!) that I hardly notice anymore. It only really shows up when I get a bit of a tan in the summer. The hard tissue should go away over time. I would second all of Original T.C.’s recommendations – make caring for the scar part of your routine and you will most likely see good results!

      • BCity says:

        Awwwwwwww poor baby!!!! I’m so glad she’s okay ❤️❤️ If you have any concerns, you can absolutely have a plastic surgeon check it out, just make sure they’re board certified and have experience working with kids. Sending lots of love to you both!! 💓💓

      • Mel M says:

        Thank you all for your suggestions and concerns. Of course she’s the first one out of her and my two boys that has had a fall this bad and I thought would need stitches. Just ordered all of the stuff you suggested and can’t wait to get started. She actually asks for me to put the Frankinsence oil on every night so she will definitely not have a problem with this routine.

  14. Melissa says:

    Honestly, I’ll believe the whole thing if and when she posts before recovery pictures….not that I am not compassionate, but the whole thing certainly screams “publicity!”….

  15. mollie says:

    She is hiding the injury with makeup and very likely, the same scar system that I use. I’ve posted before that I had an injury at oddly, the same weekend that she did, and it was devastating. I use a specific thing on my face, that when I’m wearing it, it is very very difficult to detect the scar at all. I will bet a lot of money that she’s using it too, there is only one company that makes it.
    It’s not makeup.
    Anyway, you’ve NO IDEA what damage is underneath the system.
    When she goes to bed at night, she looks in the mirror and sees it.
    I’m sick of people saying how ridiculous she is and that they see no damage.
    Of course you see no damage, people, she’s covering it up, but it stares back at her every night.
    Rant over.

    • mollie says:

      oh and of course she’s wearing makeup too, I only meant that makeup is not all it takes. Think of a scar /wound that required a lot of stitches as a deep ditch. Makeup doesn’t really work in that case. By now her healing is at same exact point as mine time-wise. Red, red scars. Swelling now gone, facial shape back to normal.

    • Betsy says:

      I don’t think people just meant Maybelline; I think people assumed that if she has real damage that she’s using some kind of silicone filler. I’m sorry to hear of your injuries.

    • Green_eyes says:

      @Mollie. I’ve been a reader for years on this site, but I don’t comment often. I have a lot of severe & uncurable illnesses. 1 of them Scleroderma has left my face & Chest / huge dark spotted areas of pigmentation (think Vitiligo like Michael Jacksonin reverse). I used to tan year round to hide it but now the disease is killing my vascular system as well so no more tanning (well that and so many organs removed & countless surgeries in the abdomen/pelvic region left those veins very weak alsoń). Sun rays literally cause my skin & bones to feel like acid has been poured on me. It would be comical if not so painful & serious at the moment. I have more veins dying every week. Scleroderma turns your organs to calcified stone so my veins are drying up, hardening, and shriveling. I joke I’m turning into a vampire. I never had to use makeup thanks to tanning til just over a yr ago. I use IT Cosmetics & it helps to a point. I also am on oxygen so the hose wears off the makeup in no time (they don’t advertise that). When I was younger doing beauty pageants and modeling I used a makeup that was rather thick but was marketed as something other than makeup. That con concoction decades ago covered scars on my thigh from a series of bad anti venom shots that went wrong as a lil girl & I loved it. I haven’t seen it anywhere so not sure if it’s even around these days. If you do not mind I would be so very grateful to you if you shared your makeup routine with me. I’ve really been even more so self conscious since this last Oct. Drs decided to do a procedure starting w/ one of my legs to avoid loosing it (instead of taking into consideration the bad veins start in my chest go thru my abdomen, pelvic region, around my ostomy, down my hips, all thru my thighs on down. They started at the bottom instead of the top. 3 procedures since then and each worse than the prior one. I’ve been on strict bed rest lying down. All of this has my kidneys failing as well again so between the bedrest & kidneys I’m so swollen & I have gained 35lbs I didn’t need since October. Needless to say that weight also adds to my embarrassment in appearance. So covering up all that Scleroderma has done to my face would bring great joy. Lately I haven’t even tried to cover it. But I’m so open to trying something new that may work. Thank you again & so sorry this is so long.. ❤️🌹

      • Birdie says:

        @Green_eyes: So sorry to hear about your condition, it sounds horrible and I wish you all the best and a lot of strength! Sorry I don’t know about the routine you are asking about, but hopefully the person will answer you.

      • Green_eyes says:

        @Birdie. Thank you very much for your words of compassion. It’s been a rough few months so they really meant a lot. ❤️🌹

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I agree, I think it is sad that people are judging her when they have no idea what she has been through.

    • Silvie says:

      I am so sorry you had to endure this, but happy for you that at least you have a solution that makes it easier! I fell flat on my face last year and smashed my nose to pieces, cracked my cheek bone. It was completely reconstructed and everyone tells me I look the same, but to me, I look really different. Also, it was excruciating. We don’t know and may never know how much reconstructive surgery Carrie’s undergone, so it’s fair for her to be self-conscious. It’s hard to ever look at yourself the same after you’ve seen your own face distorted and broken.

  16. Nancypants says:

    I don’t see much difference either but make-up on stage is about 3″ thick and they use the airbrush make-up which looks like plastic in real life.

    Anyway, I like her and I don’t suspect domestic abuse and I don’t suspect she was drunk.

    I still do things I shouldn’t do anymore and get injured: fall from a ladder, trip on the stairs carrying something, slip on ice, finger in the car door or self-closing laundry room door, stubbed toe on a scooter in the dark that sheared a big toenail down to meat…

    I think she just had a bad boo-boo, bless her heart.

  17. Betsy says:

    She just looks like she had a nose job.

    • Blonde555 says:

      And a facelift. Why does her face look so tight/pulled?

      • ORIGINAL T.C. says:

        That’s what I was thinking, especially the picture where her the backside of her hands are in the same frame with her neck and face. The age of her hands and neck do not match her new, slick unlined face. But you know someone will come at you for paying attention to her looks when it was her who brought the public into focusing on her “disfigured” face. Unlike everyone else posting out facial injuries, she has access to the best plastic surgeons in the world who specialize on erasing scars, dermatologists with the best laser technology and skin treatments to make your skin look as refresh as a baby’s.

        Everyone has things they don’t like about their face, old acne scars, abnormal features they were made fun of. That’s normal life but going from perfect face to slightly less perfect? Please. zzzzzzz

  18. lucy2 says:

    She looks the same to me, just a little more makeup than usual and she always did wear a lot, but I’m sure she’s very self conscious about it.

  19. homeslice says:

    Her face looks fine, the styling is just atrocious. I will never get the country music scene tho…

  20. aerohead21 says:

    She really looks disfigured. No wonder she has so much anxiety. I just imagine how awful it must be for her.

  21. No Doubtful says:

    I don’t see any difference. I guess she just wanted to stir up some PR…which worked.

  22. GreenQueen says:

    I am a Plastics and burn trauma nurse, I see all the time how much people are affected by their injuries that can disfigure them, scarring from their trauma. I am having a really hard time with this one and I think the large part of that is because of her story. People never have a hard time telling me how they got their injuries, despite how traumatic it often is (house fires, explosions, etc). The only time they don’t is when they have lied to us about how they sustain their injuries. It is very obvious to us and we actually write in our reports when someone has lied about the etiology of their injury. We are experts and know when what is being presented to us doesn’t match up with the story. So that’s my big issue with this one and why I have had no emotion when I see or read her story. If I am being entirely honest, at this moment given the lack of any detail coming from her I don’t believe a word of what her people are putting out there. I will save all sympathy and empathy for my poor patients whom are in the hospital fighting for their lives right now, having survived real life-harrowing traumas and not lying to me about it. End rant.

    • Fleur says:

      Huge props to you, Trauma RN. The pain and horror ER and Trauma nurses see every day of their work life. It’s horrific. Trauma and ER nurses deserve 10 times the salary.

    • RD says:

      I would not be surprised if she never had an injury at all, or if she did, it was something that required four stitches, not 40. This whole thing smacks of a publicity stunt.

  23. KeepingItReal says:

    She’s notoriously rude and obnoxious to fans, and now she wants sympathy for her probably fake injury?

  24. Deedee says:

    I fell down 25 concrete steps backwards and head first and lived to tell….The first thing people asked was if I was drinking. The answer was no, I just had a misstep, a very unfortunate one, with a happy ending. Accidents do happen

  25. lelbit says:

    Stars who dont want attention should just stop asking for it. Lost
    a lot of respect for this woman and her agenda.

  26. Patty says:

    Maybe her injury was more horrific than what we can see but I don’t understand the big “roll out” and the teasing. It does seem like she was dragging it out for attention.

  27. Guest says:

    I don’t see any scars on her face but something is slightly different