Trans Woman Who Injected Industrial Silicone Into Face Closes Fundraiser

A trans woman who went viral after she injected industrial silicone into her face has been forced to close an online fundraiser to fix her oversized cheeks after it lay dormant for months with no donations.

Juju Oliveira, who lives in the Brazilian municipality of Passo Fundo, informed her 34,500 Instagram followers that she had been forced to close her online fundraiser to pay for corrective surgery after realising she would never reach her target.

Juju achieved viral fame after she claimed to be a victim of bullying, alleging she was called “Fofao”, after the Brazilian fictional character with cheeks resembling a scrotum, in August last year.

Newsflash

The former escort had undergone a facial procedure in which she had some 250 millilitres (8.8 oz) of industrial silicone injected into her cheeks, nose, chin, and jaw at a clandestine clinic in 2017.

She said, however, that she had not been given enough money to have the operation needed to remove it, and also took the opportunity to reject suggestions that the real reason she scrapped the plans for the operation was the fact that she had spent the money she already had on a motorbike.

In the post, which was her first since September last year, Juju, who is in her early 30s, told followers: “The fundraiser was closed because it went three months without receiving a single contribution, but I didn’t spend the money.

@oliveirajuju358/Newsflash

“I never used the money from the fundraiser to buy a motorbike, which was a big dream of mine. I saved up some money given to me on Instagram and I bought the bike with cash. The money from the fundraiser is put away.”

Juju had hoped to raise BRL 45,000 (GBP 6,080) for the corrective op from the fundraiser, which she started in September last year.

She closed it having raised just BRL 8,800 (GBP 1,189), a mere 20 per cent of her target, money which she denied spending on the motorbike in the posting made on 1st February.

@oliveirajuju358/Newsflash

The former escort told her followers: “I never thought about removing the silicone from my face because it has never affected me. What was affecting me was people’s lack of respect.

“I know that I’ll have to remove it for my health, but I’m not unhappy with the silicone. I get very sad when people attack me in the street because of my face. I don’t want them to tease me.”

She said of her op to local media last year: “It seems like a lot, but when it’s put in, little shows. The problem is that it doubles in size with time. My main problem is my cheeks and neck, as the silicone has sunk.

@oliveirajuju358/Newsflash

“I need surgery to remove my cheeks and the excess silicone, which is sinking down into my neck. I’d like a surgeon to help me for free, as I have no money to pay for it.”

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