Warning: this article contains racist comments towards Black people, which some readers may find distressing.
A body-positive model has unveiled the messages she received after posting images of her family online.
Iskra Lawrence, 35, a British plus-size model, has long been an advocate against body shaming throughout her career.
Recently, she took to her Instagram account, not to discuss her body, but to share her relationship with music industry entrepreneur Philip Payne.
The couple’s relationship began slowly after meeting at a Grammys after-party in 2018.
Initially friends, Payne and Lawrence eventually fell in love and have since had two children together, a boy and a girl.
However, when Lawrence shared an image of her family on social media, she received a flood of abusive messages.
The negativity stemmed from their different racial backgrounds.
Rather than reacting angrily, Lawrence chose to re-upload the family image, overlaying it with the offensive comments, including usernames, to highlight the vitriol she faced.
Her caption read: “This is what racism looks like in 2026. Unfiltered. Unashamed. Loud.”
Lawrence continued: “After sharing this post of my family, I received messages saying our love is wrong, our children should not exist, and that harm toward us is inevitable. That is racism. It does not need softer language. It does not need to be explained away. It needs to be named.
“Black History Month is not a moment for surface level reflection. It is a reminder that the work is ongoing. At home. In schools . In community. In the stories we tell our children and the silence we choose or refuse.”
She emphasized: “Our family is proud. We celebrate Black excellence. We honor our heritage, and feel so grateful for the generations who fought so our children could exist.”
Among the comments she highlighted were remarks such as, ‘what a way to ruin the race,’ and ‘wasn’t illegal, just white women had more respect for themselves back then’.
The latter was a response to Lawrence’s comment on her original family image, pointing out that racism 59 years ago would have deemed their family ‘illegal’.
She reflected on Martin Luther King Jr.’s influence on African American civil rights, acknowledging that ‘without him I would not have my family’ as he ‘believed that dignity was not something to be earned, but something every human being is born deserving’ and risked prosecution to drive social change.
Many supporters rallied behind Lawrence, applauding her for candidly addressing the harassment, and perhaps she enlightened a few on the essence of love.