Carrie Underwood fans are angry she looks pretty much the same after facial stitches

Three months ago, Carrie Underwood warned fans that her face might look “different” because she had been injured in an accident at her house. The country star has kept fans updated on her health since then but largely kept her face hidden from public view — until Sunday. That’s when she made her first public performance since her accident at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Carrie Underwood performs during the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday. (Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ACMA2018/FilmMagic for ACM)

And fans pointed out, with annoyance, that her face looked the same as it did before. Many took to Twitter to publicly complain about Underwood being “dramatic.”

It literally makes me sick that Carrie Underwood made such a big deal about her face needing stitches. Maybe she should come visit my work where people face actual traumatic injuries that are life altering. ‍♀️ #perspective

Really?!? @ACMawards we're giving Carrie underwood a standing ovation for coming back after having stitches in her face and looking -exactly the same- after making a huge ridiculous deal about it? #wayyytoovain

I realize that everyone reacts to events in their lives differently, but Jesus Christ Carrie Underwood, some ppl are actually disfigured in accidents, you were not. Time to work on yourself if a scar like that literally makes you afraid to show your face.

I have to say, I am a little disappointed in all the hype Carrie underwood gave up about her face and how it’s going to look different. She looks the same to me in every way. It shows how vein these celebs are. And I’m a Carrie fan too. I’m just saying #ACMawards

Wait. I think I see it. No, that’s a mole. Wait, THERE it is. Oops. That’s glitter. Adore you Carrie Underwood, but your face looks the same. You killed it tonight, but why all the secrecy? If you have a scar, show it off! Inspire young girls to be proud of the skin they’re in. pic.twitter.com/F5gAxwnj1g

Underwood’s accident happened back in November, when she fell down some stairs outside her home and had to get more than 40 stitches in her face, the singer told fans in a January fan letter obtained by People. In the letter, Underwood said there was “another part of the story that I haven’t been ready to talk about since I have still been living it and there has been much uncertainty as to how things will end up. It’s crazy how a freak random accident can change your life.”

Underwood also revealed that she was “not quite looking the same” before adding, “I am determined to make 2018 amazing and I want to share things with you along the way. And when I am ready to get in front of a camera, I want you all to understand why I might look a bit different.”

Since then, the singer has kept her face largely hidden on social media. But she offered a few glimpses on Instagram leading up to her ACM performance.

Fans have since gone on Underwood’s Instagram account to complain about feeling duped.

“Carrie played us!! I was expecting Al Capone scar!!!” one wrote. Another said, “The hype over stitches was way over the top, people deal with that and more every day.”

It may seem odd that people are reacting so strongly to the experience of someone they don’t even know, but it happens with celebrities, according to licensed clinical psychologist John Mayer, the author of Family Fit: Find Your Balance in Life. People tend to form attachments to celebrities as a form of hero worship, he tells Yahoo Lifestyle — and when celebrities act in a way that people don’t like, they can become disappointed. In this case, some people feel that Underwood tricked them by implying that her injury was worse than it appears to have been.

And California-based psychotherapist Mayra Mendez tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “The anticipation was for a change, something dramatic, for some kind of disfigurement, perhaps, because she was gone from the public eye for so long. The expectation was not matched, and people felt betrayed.”

However, Mendez says, it’s important for fans to realize that the injury may have been traumatic for Underwood, even if a change in her appearance isn’t obvious to the rest of us.

“Her face — not just her voice — is a big part of her persona,” Mendez says. “Maybe the public needs to put it in perspective and not be so offended by what we might consider misleading.”