Kelly Ripa Says ‘Pimples Are Like Nipples’ in Rant Against Public Acne Patches

Kelly Ripa is a pimple-shamer! Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the 53-year-old talk show host does have some strong feelings about the pimple patch craze. “These pimple patches, they’re becoming the breakout fashion statement of the summer,” Ripa said during an episode of Live With Kelly and Mark on July 17, per Entertainment Weekly. “I’m here to say: No.”

First embraced by Gen Z and Justin Bieber, more and more people are rocking fun-shaped pimple patches—typically hydrocolloid dressings which can be infused with healing acne-fighting ingredients—in public in lieu of makeup, which can sometimes exacerbate a breakout. In fact, this writer recently received a press release about bedazzled patches co-created by pop artist Neriah in collaboration with KIKI World. Cute, right?

Not to Ripa. “Now, it is in fashion to wear your pimples proudly and cover them with bright stars and hearts, you name it. And then, we’re all supposed to look away and pretend we don’t see the pimple patch,” Ripa said, recalling how she used to mask pimples with old-school cover-up resembling Wite-Out, joking that “it’s never a shade found in nature.”

But apparently, that’s better than cute little purple flowers. Ripa concluded, “I think a little modesty goes a long way with your pimples, because pimples are like nipples!”

Bold statement! Quick, someone tell Millie Bobby Brown, who not only posts her breakouts on social media, but wore one of her Florence by Mills acne patches during a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.

“I don’t like that social media has a lot to do with beauty perception,” Brown told Glamour in 2019. “Being someone else on social media is not healthy. I think it’s so important for other people to see the side of you where you have no makeup on and where you actually just woke up. That’s why I like to expose my pimples online, and be like, ‘Guys, look, it’s awful.’ It’s like, who cares? Everybody gets them. Social media should be a place to talk about real things—real situations—and I don’t think we should be hiding.”

On-camera debate between Millie and Kelly when?