Carrie Underwood had ‘extensive reconstruction around her mouth and lips’

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When Kaiser previewed the People Magazine cover featuring the royal baby news, some of you noted that Carrie Underwood’s injury was featured as a sidebar across the top. There have been strong reactions to Carrie, from her initial announcement about her “gruesome” injury to her gradual release of photos of her face and eventual return to the spotlight. She came out of hiding after several months and looked exactly the same to many people. Even the release of a photo showing scarring around her mouth didn’t convince everyone that she was as affected by the accident as she claimed. For what it’s worth I believe her, I can see the scarring and I can imagine that she went through a lot of personal turmoil. I think that she was so self-focused that she overcompensated for something that she could have been hidden or downplayed. However as she said several times she didn’t know how it was going to turn out in the end. A new brief article in People supports that, stating that Carrie had a lot of reconstructive work.

A source close to Underwood tells PEOPLE the singer — whose sixth studio album Cry Pretty drops Sept. 14 — looks “gorgeous in person.”

“You honestly couldn’t see any scarring even up close,” says the source. “She had extensive reconstruction done around her mouth area and lips, but the doctors did a really great job obviously.”

[From People]

For everything you can say about Carrie, that she’s milking this or whatever, consider how much ongoing publicity she’s received. It’s her job to get press and she just got a bunch of it for her new single and for her athletic line. (People has a new “behind the scenes” photo of her doing a photoshoot for it.) I do think she paid the price for that and that she went through an ordeal. This just showed how hard she works to control her image, and she owned that and was upfront about it from the beginning. I don’t know how much more she could have done. If she had shared photos of her face all cut up people would complain about that too.

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52 Responses to “Carrie Underwood had ‘extensive reconstruction around her mouth and lips’”

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  1. KeWest says:

    Enough

    • Snappyfish says:

      Thank you!! Enough is right. Sick of this story and her clearly obsessive concern about her looks.

  2. Tanesha86 says:

    She’s got some scaring to her mouth and chin and I’m sure the whole thing was very traumatic for her, she’s still beautiful though

    • BCity says:

      +10000 – I got a big zit on my chin right before the holidays and was v. upset, so I’m actually incredibly impressed with how well she’s handling this. She’s still gorgeous!!

  3. Nev says:

    Still?!!!???!!!

  4. Differentview says:

    I wish people would give her a break. If you are sick of this story, why not try reading a different one.

    • gatorbait says:

      I think it’s reached over saturation and people are tired of it. I know I rolled my eyes when I opened this page and saw yet another story about her face. I opened it to see what the general consensus was.

      • Jussie says:

        I get the oversaturation, but only a bit of that has actually come from her. She’s spoken about it a few times. Every other article has just been because she posted a selfie on social media or was out in public. She hid away for months and people said she was doing it for attention, now she’s out and about and that’s also wrong apparently.

        People are obviously extremely interested, or else there wouldn’t be a flurry of articles every time there’s a new photograph of her.

      • gatorbait says:

        True Jussie. I was just giving a different perspective and helping explain why they may have clicked anyway.

        A celebs goal is to get attention. I can’t hate on her for that. I keep meaning to listen to Cry Pretty and that is only because I keep hearing about it due to this story. Goal achieved. 🙂

      • lucy2 says:

        I agree Jussie, only some of this has come from her – it does not need to be reported on THIS MUCH by the media, gossip blogs, etc. (I realize the irony of saying this while clicking on such a story).

    • heh says:

      THISSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. Clare says:

    Physical scarring aside – can you imagine what that kind of injury and the ongoing attempts to ‘fix it’ to to one’s psyche and also to their relationship? Being in and out of hospitals/doctor’s offices is hard on any person, even those with lots of money. Add to that her face is one of her ‘selling points’. Clearly she equates her worth with her looks, at least in part – and lots of women do.

    Maybe we can’t see the scarring on her face now…but there’s a lot of shit that goes on, on the inside, too.

    Personally, I don’t think anyone other than her gets to decide when to move on. If you’re not interested in hearing/reading about her issues/journey with her accident, don’t click on it. Simples.

    • Cine says:

      I think she just made waaaay to much of it – she teased how bad it was and how worried she was about her looks. Without Releasing photos the public imagined the worst. I feel sorry for her if, truly, a facial injury was so utterly devastating to her that she stayed out of view until she was as back to her old self as she was gonna get…this does not speak well to self confidence or self acceptance. I don’t believe I heard any worries about what it would do to her voice — just worry about how she will look. Bummer.

      • MoonSeemsNice says:

        It’s comments like yours that are infuriating. Just because you don’t like her, you feel the need to slam her? If it was someone you like, who isn’t a blonde pretty country star, I bet you’d be praising her bravery. Unless you have had a traumatic injury to your face, keep your comments to yourself about how someone “should” behave. Yes, some people are concerned with their looks. There’s nothing wrong with that.

  6. Atticus says:

    For a singer, I’m guessing this is less about vanity and more about concern for her instrument. I recall Jewel talking about how she’d never straighten her teeth because she was afraid it would change how she could sing. Since Carrie’s injury was so extensive around her mouth/teeth/lips, I bet she was extremely worried about the impact it would have on how she sings.

    I’m sure there was also some vanity involved, since she’s in an industry that puts a premium on appearance. And, like many of us have said, any facial scars/injuries are traumatic for everyone. I’m not the biggest fan but definitely feel for her in this situation.

    • Luisa says:

      Lol like Jewel is some kind of virtuoso.

    • queenE says:

      Freddie mercury was born with three or four extra teeth with gave him an overbite. He said he would never have them removed because he was afraid it would change the way he sung

      • Lulublue says:

        My dad was the drummer in a band and would single a couple of songs for his wife each gig. Then he got his damaged front teeth fixed and now he can’t sing at all. It’s quite understandable considering how upset he was when he wasn’t even the lead singer.

  7. Elena says:

    IDK this is so messy

  8. Mo' Comments Mo' Problems says:

    Has she controlled her image this much before? Completely understand wanting to own your narrative and taking this opportunity after her accident to run her image by herself…but…was she even getting bad press to begin with? Wasn’t she like country’s sweetheart? What’s going on and what’s she hiding?

    • Zapp Brannigan says:

      Maybe she is reacting badly to the gossip and blind items on how her injury was a result of domestic violence, this may be her way of deflecting. If she comes out saying those gossip items are not true she draws attention to them anyway. Who knows, maybe just bad pr advice.

  9. Nemo says:

    This is such BS. It’s an obvious nose job and lip injections. She’s insulting anyone with an actual ‘deformity’ or scars.

    • Snowflake says:

      You don’t see the scarring above her lip?

    • Ck says:

      That’s all I see too

    • kittyhawk says:

      I too was wondering if she had a super bad reaction to lip injections (which can cause scarring) because her lips look larger, also her nose looks different too. I was looking at old photos and can see the difference. I don’t know though, I wasn’t there.

    • MoonSeemsNice says:

      Yeah, maybe because it was RECONSTRUCTIVE? Jesus, some of you people are horrible.

  10. Coco says:

    Meh, I have to give her a pass on this one. I agree that this has been played out way too much in the media but I can imagine it was upsetting for her. I took a softball to the face and only needed about 12 stiches under my brow bone but I cried on the way to the hospital worried I might be disfigured for life.

  11. MattyLove says:

    Okay, as an ICU nurse, I see people with truly horrific, life-changing injuries. I get that the initial injury and reconstruction were traumatic for her. I get that she is a public figure who banks on her image. But come on. There are people who lose limbs, have disfiguring burns all over their bodies (including their faces), and who are dying. People that are bankrupted by their time in the hospital/rehab and away from work. I think the most obnoxious thing about all of this with Carrie is that she is behaving as though she’s a “survivor” and disfigured. Sister. Please. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Come visit my unit and get yourself some perspective.

    • Elena says:

      Cosigned x 1000

    • Harryg says:

      YES.

    • Luisa says:

      Yass @Mattylove, perspective!
      Nobody is saying this stuff is not traumatic. And nobody is saying her looks are not a big deal to her and her job. And I suppose these days we are all so savvy with celebrity PR that we are okay with saying her job is to get attention and use whatever happens in her personal life…
      What’s interesting to me is the question of why hasn’t this played well with the public then? Are we all bitches or is there something really kind of crass about how she’s gone about it? Is it all PR anyway even if you’re smoother and “more authentic” about it, and she’s just overplayed her hand this time?
      In any case, I for one happen to be one of the ugh, we’re still talking about this?? bitches lol.

    • oh-dear says:

      We have one of the Humbolt bus crash hockey kids who survived the crash in our community, and he is paralyzed. He is younger and far more resilient about his injuries than she has been about her accident – he can no longer do the sport/career he loved and had trained for years to do. I do understand the trauma she has faced with this, but it is because her brand is as heavily focused on her beauty as her singing.
      I had a prof whose work is in social justice – during one of our classes he noted that we all become less abled at some point if we live long enough, and so ableism is such a strange discrimination to have. I have thought about that a lot with Carrie and other women in the entertainment industry in North America – eventually, your looks change, so why not begin your brand with a focus on talent and try to maintain that? It seems this has been Carrie’s trauma.

    • Kitten says:

      It never hurts to get some perspective and that applies to ALL of us. Thanks for reminding me to be gateful every day.

    • bma says:

      I think this is why I’ve been so annoyed by her regarding this. my best friend suffered very very very significant facial injuries from a car accident when we were kids (and honestly, the other physical injuries were the life threatening ones). she went through over 40 reconstructive/plastic surgeries between the ages of 10-18, and her scarring is still noticeable to some people. she suffered from a lot of torment from unkind kids growing up. I don’t care how heartless it makes me sound, Underwood is being overdramatic and needs some perspective given the outcome for her. people with far more significant injuries and far less resources for treatment don’t act like half the victim she is being.

    • MiaSophia says:

      YES, @Mattylove. Well said.

  12. Brunswickstoval says:

    What is it with celebrities wearing tshirt and sweaters of bands that (a) I suspect they’re not a fan of and (b) I doubt any of their fans are either.

    I have packed away all my band tshirts and await the day designers stop mass production of “band tshirts for people who are too young to know who they are”.

    Old lady rant over.

    • gatorbait says:

      I’d just enjoy my shirts. I don’t feel like that trend is going anywhere. It’s been happening since I can recall and now my 14 year old occasionally has adults try to call him out on his band shirts. I won’t let him wear one unless he knows their music. Anyway, I hate to hear that yours are not seeing sunlight. Break them out!

    • Luisa says:

      @Brunswickstoval seriously, as if. She should take a look at that Motorhead guy’s face lol, then she wouldn’t feel bad about a few scars.

      • Beth says:

        Hey! Lemmy is God! No member of Motorhead has ever been attractive, but they’re my favorite. I wear my Motorhead and other band shirts with love. R.I.P. Lemmy, Philthy Animal, and Fast Eddie

      • Luisa says:

        Haha @Beth, no disrespect to Lemmy! RIP.

  13. Millenial says:

    Tangential to her athletic line, I would love to know her workout routine. I hope that part of her side-business grows. She’s super in shape, so I’d certainly buy whatever she’s selling.

    • Kitten says:

      Her figure is mainly due to obsessive calorie-counting and a restrictive diet. People put so much focus on exercise but diet is far more crucial in terms of losing/maintaining weight.

  14. Anastasia says:

    I’d love to gently suggest to her that if she’s not already getting some talk therapy for this, that she should. It also might prevent her from working out her issues publicly.

  15. ... says:

    Lip filler or implant? Yikes! It starts way above her actual lip. Not a good look.

  16. Jag says:

    What she could have done was two things:

    1. She could have posted something on Instagram which said that she fell and had to have surgery, and that she would let her fans know that she’s okay as and after she healed. (With or without a corresponding photo of herself bandaged – not the graphic photos. And do this because the reports of her fall just said some cuts and abrasions – not that she needed surgery for the injury.)

    and

    2. She could have profusely thanked her surgeon(s) and doctor(s) who helped her not be horribly disfigured, as she first stated that she thought she would be.

    That would have given her all the time she needed to heal and get back into the spotlight afterward. Posting a photo of herself with the bandages would have quelled the speculation of exactly where she was injured. And thanking the surgeon who saved her face would have been nice, and would have added to it being real.

    The teaser photos and posts, even on the day of her comeback performance, were too much – especially since the scars are hard to see because she had such wonderful medical care and she wears makeup over them.

    I had my nose fixed, and when people talk to me about it – only if I bring it up when people talk about surgeries – I always say how wonderful my surgeon was. Always. I haven’t heard one word about her thanking her surgeon; perhaps it’s just the reporting, but it did add to my negative thoughts on the subject since it seemed to me to be more about publicity for her new album. (I won’t give the videos the views.) I wish her well. Keep on milking it, Carrie. (I say this because I fell last week and don’t want bad karma again.)

  17. elle says:

    Someone mentioned on another thread how her face has changed over the years, and it’s really obvious here. She used to have a much more pointy chin, for one thing. Maybe when they were reconstructing, she got a little nip there, too.

    When she first came on the scene, it seemed like she was getting the celebrity edit – being called beautiful when she was just a pretty singer.

    Now it seems like she has to be known for her beauty. So I can see why she’s pissed if she paid enough to get it just right, then it got screwed up.

  18. Jane says:

    Carrie, love…get over yourself.

  19. Ash says:

    chipped the ridge of my nose via a 3d arcade game accident. It was bad enough we thought we had to reconstruct and my under eyes were purple…. went into highschool about a month later with a purple swollen gash on the bridge of my nose…. i was already in class with high schoolers as I was enrolled in an advanced class that shuttled us to the hs for a latin/french class …. i think they respected me for holding my head high but i know they snickered throughout … i had such low self esteem and tried to over compensate the injury with massive amounts of non-matching makeup when i came to school trying to cover a purple gash on my nose bridge that made my nose severely lopsided….it was awful…But i didnt milk it and im just having a hard time wondering why shes doing it…. ITs not really a clutches pearls moment accidents happen……she’ll be alright.

    She either got extensive plastic surgery and had an adverse reaction or something more weird/off happen and she wont tell us.

  20. Anare says:

    For the love of god please stop talking about this non issue. It’s making me feel stabby but then there would be more scars to drone on about. Lol. Honestly CU, no one GAF. Please STFU about your face. You’ve overplayed your hand ad nauseam.