People quickly dubbed her ‘Zombie Angelina Jolie’. Her newfound fame led to her detainment by Iranian authorities in October 2019, where she faced charges of blasphemy, inciting violence, illicit income generation, and corrupting the youth.
The decision to arrest and imprison Tabar was part of a broader initiative by authorities in the Islamic Republic to regulate social media influencers.
Tabar spent 14 months in jail while awaiting her sentencing, which eventually occurred in December 2020. The court appeared to make an example of her, handing down a 10-year prison sentence.
However, reports indicated she was granted a conditional release due to the time served prior to sentencing.
After her release, she appeared on the state-owned channel Rokna, where viewers were amazed at her real-life appearance—albeit through television.
Contrary to her Instagram persona, she did not appear as emaciated, nor was her nose as sharp and narrow. Her wrists were not as thin, and her jawline was less pronounced. Essentially, she did not resemble a character from The Walking Dead.
During the program, she admitted: “My mother was telling me to stop, but I didn’t listen. Sometimes the words of a stranger or a friend can be more important than those of a parent.”
What is the real reason behind her viral appearance?
While she admitted that part of her look was due to cosmetic surgery, including a nose job and lip fillers, the primary cause was a ‘kind of art’. Tabar was not referring to extreme plastic surgery but to the use of Photoshop.
In an interview with Russian news outlet Sputnik, she confessed to frequently editing her pictures for her amusement.
She shared: “Now I can see that I have something in common with [Angelina Jolie], but I amuse myself, and to look like someone is not my goal.”
“Over time I post a photo, I make my face more fun and funny, it is a form of self-expression, a kind of art.”
Tabar revealed that her exaggerated, cartoon-like image was the result of Photoshop, make-up, and editing. She also admitted to altering and enhancing some of the original viral images from 2017.
She was quoted as saying: “What you saw on Instagram was the computer effects I used to create the image.”
“Cyberspace was an easy way. It was much easier than becoming an actor.”