Billy Corgan encourages body positivity while showing "port wine" birthmarks

Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns

Billy Corgan is sharing a message of body positivity alongside a photo of a birthmark that covers his hand and part of his arm.

"I'm a fan of body positivity movements because at the end of the day it is about celebrating what makes us 'us,'" the Smashing Pumpkins frontman writes in an Instagram post. 

Corgan adds that he was inspired to make the post by model Carlotta Bertotti, who, as the "1979" rocker writes, is a "beautiful young woman with a birthmark who has embraced her 'difference' with grace."

"My point being that my whole life I've [endeavored] to hide my 'port wine' birthmarks because as you can imagine I was teased unmercifully about them as a child," Corgan says. "So much so that people who have known me for a decade are shocked when they finally 'see it.'"

"Even now strangers will stop me on the street not because they recognize me but because they think something is wrong with me that requires medical attention," he continues. "Plus the random questions: Is that a burn? Are you sick? Is it contagious? Does it hurt?"

Concluding with a "positive message for the day," Corgan writes, "Whoever you are, I hope you find peace with who you are because: I would like to know that person and no one else."

Corgan and the Pumpkins are currently on tour supporting Green Day.

Tuesday, September 3, 2024 at 12:00PM by Josh Johnson Permalink