- Eva Grant, a teenager and beauty pageant winner, said her TikTok was blocked due to her acne.
- She told the BBC the app shut down her account for "gruesome content."
A teen beauty-pageant winner said her TikTok channel was taken down after the platform objected to her acne, classifying it as "gruesome."
Eva Grant, a 16-year-old from York in England, told Insider that TikTok removed her page, porfection, in November, sending her a message that she breached its community guidelines.
@porefectionx Hello beautiful people #beauty #porefection #innnerbeauty #foryourpage #foryou #galaxy #pageantsuk #pageants #beyou #missteenyorkgalaxy #pageantuk ♬ thats what i like -
Grant said her posts were just about her skin and didn't breach any of TikTok's other rules.
"Everything I posted, I made sure that it fit the guidelines, it had no swearing, it had nothing in it, I even checked everything with my mum beforehand," she said in an interview Wednesday.
"I sent an email to TikTok itself, wondering why they deleted it, and I had no response." She also started a new account, porefectionx, which wasn't blocked.
After not hearing back, Grant spoke to local BBC radio in York.
"Just because you have blemishes on the outside, it doesn't mean you are not beautiful," she said in the BBC interview.
When contacted by the BBC, TikTok said taking down Grant's account was a mistake.
"We are open about the fact that we don't get every moderation decision right and have reinstated Eva's account," a spokesperson said.
"We hope Eva continues to use TikTok to offer encouragement and advice to others, and to share her story."
Grant's mother, Tina Grant, praised Eva, telling Insider her daughter was "so mature and strong" for her handling of the situation.
Grant has dedicated her platform to body positivity and confidence, posting videos of her natural skin, and encouraging people to embrace their differences.
Her acne used to make her feel self-conscious, she told Insider, and there were days where she didn't want to leave her house.
"It used to get me down," Grant said. "I couldn't go anywhere without makeup."
But, she said, she decided to take a different view and use her acne "as a platform to help other people."
"I completely changed and now my focus is your acne is what makes you different, and what makes you different is beautiful," she said.
Grant said built her confidence was built by entering beauty pageants.
She currently holds the title of Miss Teen York Galaxy and has entered a UK-wide contest being held in March.
Grant said that modern pageants are more welcoming than most people imagine, and no longer focus on the idea that "everyone has to be perfect."
"They are so inclusive nowadays that anyone can enter, and you don't have to look a certain part to be you," Grant said. "The confidence that pageants has given me has been amazing."