Iran’s ‘Zombie Angelina Jolie’ reveals real face
After being released from prison for blasphemy, Iran’s ‘Zombie Angelina Jolie’ reveals her true face. Sahar Tabar received international recognition as a result of the images.
After being released from prison, an Iranian woman who became popular on Instagram for posting eerie photographs resembling Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie disclosed her true identity. Sahar Tabar was arrested in October 2019 and sentenced to ten years in jail on charges of “corruption” and “blasphemy.”
However, she was liberated 14 months later following widespread protests in the country sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini last month. Ms. Tabar was popularly assumed to have received cosmetic surgery, giving her the appearance of a frightening Angelina Jolie.
Many people launched campaigns on social media for her release. Among them is activist Masih Alinejad. When she was jailed, Ms. Alinejad tweeted: “Sahar Tabar is only 19. Her joke landed her in jail. Her mother cries every day to get her innocent daughter freed. Dear Angelina Jolie, we need your voice here. Help us.”
After being released from jail, Ms. Tabar said she had undergone some cosmetic procedures, like a nose job, lip fillers, and liposuction, but stressed that the infamous images were a result of make-up and editing on Photoshop. Due to her spooky photos, she was called “zombie Angelina Jolie” on social media.
“What you saw on Instagram was the computer effects I used to create the image,” she told a state-run outlet, as reported by news.com.au.
Ms. Tabar, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand, said she always wanted to become famous and chose the macabre makeover to gain international attention. The woman also said that cyberspace provided an easy way. “It was much easier than becoming an actor,” the outlet further quoted her as saying.
Ms. Tabar also said that the images were created as a “joke” and expressed regret. “My mother was telling me to stop, but I didn’t listen.”
