The Pundits of Plastics

Speculating about celebrity plastic surgery has long been a parlor game for the Hollywood-obsessed. But just as social media is changing how we feel about our own faces, it’s also changing how we talk about others’. Surgeons have become influencers, influencers have become experts, everyday users have become critics — and they all share the same stage. From doctors marketing their practice to anonymous rage-bait accounts assembling their own before-and-afters, a new generation of plastic surgery pundits has popped up to dissect what the stars have and haven’t had done.

Not everyone in medicine is thrilled. In interviews for Bustle’s Plastic Surgeon Summit, doctors who have encountered surgery-speculation content expressed everything from mild amusement to outright opposition, but they all advised viewers to take it with a grain of salt: At the end of the day, those videos are just educated guesses with wildly varying degrees of education to back them up. (Bustle does not confirm or endorse any claims made about the appearance or cosmetic history of the individuals mentioned.) Still, as the lines between entertainment, education, and exposé continue to blur, good luck trying to turn away for good. Below, meet the key players driving discourse around who’s (allegedly) fresh off the surgeon’s table.

The YouTube Enthusiast: Lorry Hill

Vitals: 502,000 subscribers on YouTube; 122,000 followers on Instagram (@lorryhill on both)

Credentials: A nonprofessional whose goal is to “diminish the stigma” around plastic surgery and show that “beauty is attainable” for everyone. According to her bio, her expertise comes from personal experience with plastic surgery, as well as a “private network” of plastic surgeons who share their insights.

The Work: Thirty-minute-long deep dives into suspected celebrity transformations, from Mandy Moore to Dakota Johnson, as well as reviews of products and procedures she has tried. Hill believes celebrities have an ethical responsibility to be transparent about the work they’ve had done. “We have many young people trying to achieve naturally what celebrities have obtained surgically,” she states on her channel. “Until celebrities are willing to be a little more honest, I’m here for you guys to show you the truth.”

The Drama: After Hill made a video about Doja Cat in 2022, the artist responded during an Instagram live: “This bitch, Lorry Hill, talking about people’s bodies, talking about people’s surgery. … Your whole sh*t is f*cked up, and if I could tear your whole empire down, I would.” Hill deleted the video and apologized, saying, “Since it is never my intention to hurt anyone, I have taken the video down without hesitation.” She continues posting about other celebs.

The Kardashian Watcher: Dr. Anthony Youn

Vitals: 8.5 million followers on TikTok (@doctoryoun); 1.6 million on Instagram (@tonyyounmd)

Credentials: A board-certified plastic surgeon (M.D.) in Troy, Michigan, the self-described “America’s holistic plastic surgeon” considers factors like diet and skin care alongside lasers, injections, and actual surgery. He’s also open about getting jaw surgery after high school to improve his appearance.

The Work: He’s probably the most recognizable plastic surgeon talking head, with by far the most followers in the category. He uses viral sounds and meme references on TikTok to get more views but also posts informative content — specifically, debunking videos about off-the-wall beauty trends and procedures. He also covers a lot of highly publicized celebrity aesthetic procedures, like Kim Kardashian’s salmon sperm facial and Kris Jenner’s facelift.

Referrals: He and another viral plastic surgeon, Dr. Charles S. Lee (@drlee90210), have a fake rivalry and make videos with each other to promote their accounts.

The Troll: @unfiltered.celebs

Vitals: 102,000 followers on Instagram

Credentials: None shared publicly — the account admin is anonymous.

The Work: One of the most active in a field of IG accounts that post before-and-after photos of A-listers like Zoe Kravitz and Bella Hadid. The comparisons are intentionally provocative, but the account never explicitly states any opinions or speculations — unless you count some choice hashtags. (See “#deadeyes #botox #nosejob” under a then-and-now collage of Gabbriette.) The real action happens in the comments.

Referrals: @problematicfame is a similar account with a stronger POV, promising to spread “awareness of how Instagram can affect beauty standards”; @kpopprocedure focuses on Korean celebrities and — despite a bio that reads “always show kindness & respect” — inadvertently fuels a lot of stan wars.

The Boob Guy: Dr. Daniel Barrett

Vitals: 2.6 million followers on TikTok; 1.1 million on Instagram (@drdanielbarrett)

Credentials: Based in Beverly Hills, California, he’s a board-certified plastic surgeon (M.D., M.H.A., M.S.) who works on the face, body, and breasts and has performed over 5,000 breast augmentation surgeries at his practice, according to his website.

The Work: Answers common plastic surgery questions on his account, particularly about breast implant types, shapes, and profiles. He built a large following during the pandemic by speculating about celebrity work but has largely moved away from that kind of content. In one video about Jenna Ortega from August, he admits that it’s difficult to judge whether she’s had any cosmetic work on her face because “a lot of this just could be age and lighting and gothic glam” — a refreshingly reasonable take on this corner of the internet.

The Drama: In 2020, Hailey Bieber threatened to sue him after he alleged that she got a rhinoplasty. She never filed a libel suit, though she did reportedly send a cease-and-desist letter, and the video is still available to view on Dr. Barrett’s page.

The Trendspotter: Dr. Prem Tripathi

Vitals: 750,000 followers on TikTok; 128,000 on Instagram (@DrPremTripathi on both)

Credentials: A board-certified Bay Area–based facial plastic surgeon (M.D., M.P.H.) with expertise in eye rejuvenation — the “winged blepharoplasty” is a specialty.

The Work: Mostly reacts to confirmed celebrity surgeries on TikTok and dishes on which procedures he thinks are actually worth it, giving his page more of an educational bent. He also uses celebrity surgery as a jumping-off point to talk about larger trends: He talked about the “undetectable era” of plastic surgery last year after speculating about Christina Aguilera’s alleged facelift, and he now argues that’s shifted to an “age of aesthetic transparency” following recent disclosures from the Kardashian-Jenner tribe. “We’re entering the end of secrecy and the age of true transparency,” he said in a recent video, “where celebrities are now telling you exactly what is getting them from Point A to Point B.”

Referrals: @DrJB.Aesthetics also adds a big-picture perspective to his mix of celebrity speculation and before-and-after content, recently declaring that “big lips are out” and plastic surgery for men is in.

The Juvederm Judge: Dr. Mai Kaga

Vitals: 49,000 followers on Instagram; 24,000 on TikTok (@TheKagaAcademy on both)

Credentials: A New Jersey–based doctor (M.D.) certified in internal and aesthetic medicine who offers fillers, Botox, and lasers.

The Work: She alternates highlighting her own before-and-afters with green-screen-style videos about celebrities, often distinguishing between those she believes are “overfilled” (like Lauren Sanchez) and those she thinks have had “good work” (like Bethenny Frankel).

The Drama: In August, Kaga suggested that Larsa Pippen has too much filler in her face. “Honey I had PRP and had an allergic reaction so chill out,” the Real Housewives of Miami star fired back in the comments. Kaga maintains her professional opinion that Pippen simply had a bad injector who never said no. “Allergic reactions to PRP are extremely rare. You simply will not find allergies to your own blood cells all that common,” she replied in a follow-up video. “Secondly, allergic reactions don’t last three seasons on a streaming network.”

The Tooth Sayer: Dr. Jordan Davis

Vitals: 139,000 followers on Instagram (@DrJordanDavis_); 113,000 on TikTok (@DrJordanDavis)

Credentials: A cosmetic dentist (DDS) based in Utah who specializes in non-invasive veneers.

The Work: He peppers before-and-after photos from his practice with celebrity smile analyses. His videos always start with some statement to the effect of, I just don’t get why these stars get bad veneers. He speculates about what they didn’t like about their teeth and why they might have opted to get veneers, but, interestingly, he also posts about celebrities who seemingly have not gotten veneers — and what he would do to fix their smiles.

Referrals: @veneercheck uses celebrity teeth to educate the public about pros and cons of veneers, with a bio that reads, “I miss the era before veneers.”

The Meme Injector: Molly Bailey

Vitals: 143,000 followers on Instagram; 12,000 on TikTok (@BaileysBoujee on both)

Credentials: A licensed physician assistant (PA-C) in St. Louis, where she opened her own med spa that focuses on facial balancing and restoration.

The Work: She takes a lighter, meme-forward approach to analyzing suspected celebrity work (“spill the tea — not the tox,” reads her IG bio). In a post about the Nike x SKIMS collaboration, for instance, she wrote, “The Nike x SKIMS collab might have fallen a little short but not as short as the distance between Kim’s nose and upper lip. My fave collab — a non-surgical lip lift with lip hydration.”

Referrals: @igfamousbydana is a dietician who gives her take on trending celebrity transformations like Mandy Moore and Bradley Cooper.

The Click Baiter: Stephanie Lange

Vitals: 2 million subscribers on YouTube (@StephanieLange)

Credentials: A nonprofessional who got her start making vlog content like makeup tutorials. Now she posts videos about “anything and everything that I find interesting that pertains to women” — most often, in relation to beauty standards.

The Work: Commentary videos, ranging from 10 to 30 minutes, about surgery topics like mommy makeovers and buccal fat removals with attention-grabbing celebrity thumbnails and clickbaity titles like “congrats, you’ve ruined your face” and “sorry, you’re just not a natural beauty.” This approach can be polarizing — some viewers have called her “mean-spirited” on account of the “gotcha!” tone of her videos.

Referrals: @DrGaryLinkov does 20-minute deep dives on celebrity transformations with similarly provocative thumbnails and sensational titles.

The TikTok Tabloid: @GeorgieJxmes

Vitals: 185,000 followers on TikTok

Credentials: A fashion and beauty lover who describes herself as a “one-girl magazine.”

The Work: Her social-video gossip column covers pop culture news (like this deep dive on Taylor Swift and Charli XCX’s supposed beef) and rumors (like whether Chris Evans wears a wig in public appearances). Her breakdowns of suspected celebrity plastic surgery feature rapid-fire narration and quick-cut slideshows that can feel like watching other accounts on this list on double-speed.

Referrals: @celebritea.blinds also posts celebrity blind items, but with fewer opinions and more of a matter-of-fact tone.

The Real Housewife: Dr. Jennifer Armstrong

Vitals: 92,000 followers on TikTok; 189,000 followers on Instagram (@jenniferarmstrongmd on both)

Credentials: A cosmetic dermatologist (M.D.) in Orange County, California — and a one-season star of The Real Housewives of Orange County.

The Work: Compared to many other doctors’ content, Armstrong’s “celebrity reviews” contain a lot of her own opinions about celebrities’ looks. In a recent video about Megan Fox, she said, “I would thin out the brows a little bit — I think this is too heavy of a brow for her. And then with her nose, I would actually soften this up, adding a little bit more volume so it’s not so angulated … and I would take down the lips.” Of course, she promotes her own business in the process: “If you look at Megan Fox’s pictures close up, she’s always struggled with acne scars and kind of congested skin; I definitely see that in my office all the time, so I came up with my acne line.”)

The Drama: Some commenters took issue with the use of doctored images in her celebrity reviews, like her analysis of Miley Cyrus, which featured a widely circulated AI image of the pop star.