Why did Katie Price's makeover spark so much online cruelty?

Make-up artist Mitchell Halliday says he's rarely witnessed cruelty online like the wave of comments that followed a red carpet look he created for reality star Katie Price.

Made by Mitchell’s founder, who has previously worked with Kim Kardashian, said that tens of thousands of comments poured into the transformation video, including those too foul-mouthed to quote publicly.

Halliday, who hails from Bolton, said he has become used to criticisms being thrown at him on the internet over time, but this particular criticism of Price took him by surprise.

He said that it is not criticism but cruelty itself and that he has never been on the receiving end of such levels of abuse before. Price, who has come forward in the past with her body dysmorphia and cosmetic surgeries, is said to love how she looked after the procedure, and that is all that matters for Halliday.

In reaction to such a reaction, Halliday made another video in defence of Price and his brand, stating that he was stunned at how much negativity has fallen on the community which he has built for ten years.

Halliday stated that he hopes his platform can be a place where people doing things in a different way are celebrated and not attacked. Despite all the reactions, Halliday stated that he and Price have gotten past the experience and that they will be collaborating again soon.

Halliday first found his way into the world of beauty through school and his use of his eyebrows, even as his head teacher made efforts to discourage him from doing so. 

He did a stint on The X Factor as part of a boy band known as No Getaway before he was sacked from the competition and found work in a Manchester salon.

This is where Halliday started gaining recognition online until he was noticed by some of the big names in the beauty industry, including NikkieTutorials, in 2018.

Founded during the pandemic, Made By Mitchell is the first UK beauty company that made $1m in one day through the TikTok Shop in 2024 in 12 hours.

Now Halliday is running the company from his office in Manchester, referring to his career path as something that he never imagined for himself growing up in a council estate. He says that he believes his mission is to create space for people to be themselves, although he acknowledges there's more to build.