Karoline Leavitt's Vanity Fair Close-Up Photo Triggers Viral Lip Filler Speculation

Vanity Fair published a feature on President Donald Trump's second-term White House team, complete with close-up portraits captured by photographer Christopher Anderson during a daylong visit to the executive mansion.

The piece highlighted key figures such as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Director of Presidential Personnel Dan Scavino, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political and Public Affairs James Blair. 

The now-viral portrait of Karoline Leavitt, the 28-year-old press secretary, rapidly spread across social media platforms after its release, drawing scrutiny over visible red marks and dots near her lips that prompted users to question recent cosmetic enhancements.

You can see the original Vanity Fair photo of Karoline Leavitt here:

Credits: Vanity Fair / Instagram, Viral Close-up Photo of Karoline Leavitt

One post on X stated:

"are those… the lip filler injection sites!? Jesus Vanity Fair went nuclear on Karoline Leavitt lmao." Another user wrote, "Vanity Fair did Karoline Leavitt dirty. Lmaooo You can see the syringe 💉 spots on her upper lip." 

Anderson, known for his work in political photography, addressed the backlash in an interview with The Independent and explained his approach to the images.

He said:

"Very close-up portraiture has been a fixture in a lot of my work over the years. Particularly, political portraits that I’ve done over the years. I like the idea of penetrating the theater of politics."

Anderson also rejected claims of deliberate unflattering depictions and noted that he has applied the same style to subjects across political lines.

Besides Karoline Leavitt, here's a photo of JD Vance from the same shoot and the same photographer for Vanity Fair that also went viral:

Credits: VanityFair / Instagram

Rubio's portrait from the same series followed suit in gaining traction online, showing the secretary of state gazing downward in a corner pose that inspired memes and commentary.

The Vanity Fair visit included observations of Leavitt's office, which contained a lit fireplace, framed family photos with Trump, a white orchid, a pink globe, and an open Bible turned to Proverbs 4.

NOTE: This is just a news update about Karoline Leavitt photographed in Vanity Fair magazine, with all due respect to the government workers.