T.I. and Tiny‘s Tameka Harris is looking a bit different these days because of a controversial cosmetic procedure that changed the color of her eyes.
“I permanently changed my eye color with Brightocular and lovin it,” Tiny wrote on Instagram earlier this week, a few days after debuting her new eyes in public. “Huge thanks to the incredible doctor(s) for the amazing experience and for making my dream come true ! I hated wearing contacts just for the color and it made my vision blurry! Blessed to say my vision is #perfect after my #ice-gray implants!”
After posting the picture and message, Tiny was criticized for undergoing the Brightocular procedure, which she had done in Africa because it’s still illegal for non-medical purposes in the United States. Brightocular is described by its developers as an “artificial iris implant made of a thin, flexible, biocompatible, colored medical grade silicone” and costs around $10,000.
“We believe they are a dangerous practice and as a physician I would never recommend them,” ophthalmologist James Tsai, a clinical spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, told The Associated Press. He explained potential risks include glaucoma, cataracts, bleeding in the eyes and corneal problems.
Taking a different perspective, Wendy Williams compared Tiny’s decision to lighten her eyes to when someone bleaches her skin.
“Getting your eyes permanently done like this is to me as bad as people who bleach their skin,” Wendy said on her talk show this week. “You can self-hate your flat boobs and you can self-hate your flat butt, whatever, but the eyes?”
T.I. and Tiny in 2013, before her eye procedure.
Still, Tiny stands by her decision to get the procedure.
“You have to do what makes you happy. As long as you’re being healthy and safe, just do what makes you feel good,” she told People on Thursday. “People are saying I must have low self-esteem, but if you really know me, I have no problems in the self-esteem department!”
Tiny said the only downsides were the minor headache she experienced after the procedure and that she wasn’t supposed to wear makeup for three weeks.
