Slick Woods, a 22-year-old fashion model whose popularity soared after joining Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty campaign last year, was trending online Monday as people on Twitter argued over whether or not she is “ugly.”
Woods, whose given name is Simone Thompson, has become a central figure for Fenty Beauty and SavagexFenty, the beauty and fashion brands created by Rihanna. Woods has been featured in several other high-profile modeling campaigns, including Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, and Vogue.
She’s garnered attention as a rebel trendsetter with her iconic shaved head and gap-toothed smile. In an open letter in Allure published Monday, Woods expressed her appreciation to Rihanna for “making inclusivity cool,” crediting the Fenty founder and singer with launching her into the public sphere.
“You introduced me to a more mainstream level of exposure,” Woods wrote. “People loved the idea of Slick, but you gave me countless platforms to let people actually fall in love with who I am.”
Adding to the buzz, Woods also revealed last week that she’d been in labor when she walked the runway in SavagexFenty’s latest lingerie line.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BntpnRJlyn5/?hl=en&taken-by=slickwoods
Between modeling Rih’s popular fashion line and giving birth to a baby boy, Woods is at the center of a wave of internet conversation. But as she enters further into the mainstream, some people on Twitter are mocking the model and her unconventional features.
They said Slick Woods look like IceJJFish and I can’t unsee it. pic.twitter.com/Mj8MI7huFe
— Pick Misha (@juiceboxmisha) September 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/TheOceanaWay/status/1041350550137135110
https://twitter.com/_KenndraisKING/status/1041449204714037249
The critiques, of course, fail to recognize that Woods is climbing to success because of her features (and talent as a model), not despite them. Others on Twitter have praised the model for her eccentric looks and credited her with defying Eurocentric standards of beauty.
https://twitter.com/yventi/status/1041578197194862592
Slickwoods was homeless, momma in prison, brother killed in front of her and is now an ‘unconventional’ yet successful model in the industry. She doesn’t give a fuck about social norms & really just a ball of badass sunshine. Oh and she’s 21. so yeah. iconic. we said what we said
— 💓 Pink Cocaine 💓 (@cvrlyhairshawty) September 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/TaeTurnerr/status/1041450116945731586
As of Monday afternoon, Woods has not publicly acknowledged any comments about her appearance. Despite what anyone may think, her rising fame suggests that she won’t be going away anytime soon.