By Three years ago, the whole world — or at least the whole Internet — became obsessed with Valeria Lukyanova, aka "Human Barbie." She refuses to give her age, but various reports put her anywhere from 24 to 29 years old. Jezebel can be credited with first digging up a video of her supposed transformation in April 2012, followed by a Vice documentary and a V Magazine photo shoot. Daily Mail gleefully documented her every move.
Everyone marveled at her physical Barbieness: Huge boobs, tiny waist, long blonde hair, creepily disconcerting made-up doll eyes. The online peanut gallery debated whether or not she’d removed ribs to make her waist appear smaller, and if it was indeed possible to survive on light and air, as she claimed she did; some even accused her of Photoshopping her images.
"She looks like most of her body’s been replaced by injection molded plastic prosthetics," a commenter on a Daily Beast interview said, which is a common sentiment. She retorted to V, "Many people say bad things about people who want to perfect themselves … This is how they justify not wanting to strive for self-improvement." She fueled the conversation by obligingly posting image after cleavage-filled image on Facebook and Instagram. Other human Barbies popped up, also in Lukyanova’s home country of Ukraine. Human Kens too. After keeping a relatively low media profile for many months, she’s back in the news this spring after posting very revealing pictures of herself wearing tiny jorts on her Facebook page. The pictures prompted a backlash from commenters who criticized her body and her psychological well-being. She replied to them: "It is a pity that most people choose instead the path of degradation."
Lukyanova has managed to remain in the public’s consciousness because in addition to her extreme physique (the only surgery she’s admitted to is breast implants), she has created an intriguing backstory around herself. She claims to be able to speak to aliens, to time-travel, and to be a spiritual leader called Amatue. She claims not to be a feminist. She’s continued to share her life online, often posting multiple images per day of herself in rapid succession on Instagram, where she posts as Amatue. She is a self-described "opera new-age" singer, as well as an "actress, writer and poet," according to her profile.
Amatue/Valeria, at least if her Instagram and YouTube pages are any indication, travels the world, works out in the gym a lot, and wears many muddy-looking face masks, all while using as many hashtags as possible, usually in multiple languages. She’s even sung at a club in Chile and is offering seminars to teach her spiritual out-of-body ideology to the curious. She has more than 26,000 followers on her Amatue Instagram account and 206,000 followers on her Valeria Lukyanova account, though she hasn’t posted there since January.
I chased Amatue virtually for several weeks before finally pinning her down via email, where she agreed to a Skype interview. The following conversation took place during two separate interviews before the current media firestorm while she was traveling on holiday in China, as well as via email. She no longer lives in Ukraine, where she moved when she was 16, due to the violence and political unrest there; she stays in Moscow when not traveling. During the first interview, she refused to video chat with me because she had taken her makeup off and she doesn’t allow herself to be seen without it. The second time she was there on my screen in all her Human Barbie glory.
Here, how she deals with her fame and notoriety, her career goals, her custom-made clothing, and five-hour workouts:
This interview was conducted in Russian with an interpreter.
Do you think of yourself as Valeria or Amatue now?
I’ve been associating myself only with Amatue for a long time now and even my mom calls me Amatue.
You don’t call yourself Valeria any more?
Well, that’s my earthly name and more for people who don’t really know me or aren’t absorbed with esoterics; they don’t understand this. But all the people who are close to me, they call me Amatue.
How are you dealing with all the attention you’ve received?
At first, I really didn’t like it because there was too much attention. Some people even followed me, secretly taking my photo. That I don’t like. But then, with time, I got used to it. People always want to take my photo. I don’t refuse it now.
Why did you post so many photos of yourself if you didn’t want attention?
Of course, it all depends on what sort of attention one gets. Everyone likes attention on the Internet, including me as well. But attention in reality sometimes can be too much. Sometimes you want harmony and peace. You want to immerse yourself and relax, but if there is a lot of attention and someone [is] watching constantly behind you, it becomes uncomfortable.
Any regrets sharing all the photos and doing the interviews you did, or has it helped your career?
I think it helps me because my goal is to enlighten people and spread my ideology. So that’s why, on the contrary, I really like interviews and talking more about it.
What do you think when people refer to you as Human Barbie?
I don’t think they are right. I think it’s even a little degrading and insulting, but I’m used to it now, since that’s what my work demands and this is precisely the image most fans request. So I have to comply with it because it’s become part of my aesthetic image, but I don’t like it.
How has your family and husband handled your fame?
All my relatives were of course very happy. They were very flattered that I was distinguished in this way and that I’ve become so popular. They’re very happy for me and they don’t understand why I don’t like it when I’m compared with a doll. When my mom compares me, we always quarrel. A lot. Because she doesn’t understand what’s wrong with it.
Does your husband get jealous or angry about all the attention you get from men online?
No, he’s fine with it. He treats it as my aesthetic image. He’s totally fine with it.
Are you OK with fans posting your pictures online when you take selfies with them?
Well, recently I’ve been photographed often from the wrong angle so it looks like I have a heavy jaw, for example, or something like that, and I don’t like myself. And I don’t like it when I don’t look like I do in real life. If it’s a selfie, I ask for the phone so I can hold it myself. If I can see myself, I can pose in a way that I like.
You take a lot of selfies. Any tips for taking good ones?
The most important thing is for the light to fall directly on the face. If it’s from the side at all, the photograph is doomed to fail.
How many do you usually take before you’re happy with posting it?
Maybe five, no less. I use the filters on Instagram. Many of my girlfriends use other filters, but I don’t really understand all that, so I just use the standard filters. [I don’t photoshop] my Instagram pictures because I think for Instagram it’s better to have natural photos.
You often use the #Barbie hashtag on your photos. Why, if you don’t like being compared to a doll?
When people look for me, they look for me with that hashtag, so. I’m the most popular [Barbie] copy in the world. When people say "Barbie," it’s clear that it’s associated with me, not anyone else. So that’s why I use that hashtag — so people can find me this way.
There are girls online who want to look like you and have tried to copy your look. How do you feel about this?
I don’t want people to try to copy someone, and that’s why I don’t like when people think I am imitating a doll; it’s degrading. I believe that every person should be himself. He can be inspired by someone but not just copy another person. That’s degrading.
What do you think of the other people who try to look like human Barbies and human Kens?
I think that people are exposed to fashion and subcultures, and they want attention. The main thing is that people do not forget to develop their inner world. Because appearance is secondary and our spirit is primary.
And what about the people who mock you? What response do you have for them?
I think they just really envy me because they don’t have a pretty face or a pretty figure. They eat at McDonald’s, and that’s how they defend themselves. They laugh and say that they don’t need this. If this didn’t bother them inside, they wouldn’t laugh. They have envy.
Can you talk about the time two strangers attacked you outside your apartment? Are you recovered? Why do you think it happened?
I’m fine, and I try not to think about it. Unfortunately, in the world, there are people who can’t tolerate when someone looks too bright and stands out from the crowd, and it’s very sad. We need to develop a love for people close to us.
How old are you? Do you have an anti-aging skin care routine?
I don’t advertise my age because in our country, it’s considered bad taste to advertise a girl’s age. I don’t need any kind of anti-aging products yet because my skin is young. I use a line for young skin, but I love to do masks. I really like to do my own masks from natural ingredients. I like to nourish my skin because even at my age, many use Botox. But I’m opposed to that. I think that if we can preserve [our skin], we should do that. I’m not worried [about getting old] because the most important thing is our thoughts. We look however we feel.
How long does it take you to prepare to go out in public and what are some of your favorite products?
Well, about an hour [for makeup]. And an hour for my hair too. My favorite face cream is Dior. I can’t live without it. Also Estée Lauder. I really like Clinique too.
How often do you work out?
Every day. I run in the morning for an hour, then I spend three hours in the gym right afterward, in the morning. But that’s right now because I’m not in my usual setting. When I have a lot of time and I’m home, then I work out for five or six hours.
When I go [to the gym] in the evening, I don’t remove my makeup, but when I go in the morning, I usually don’t put on makeup. There aren’t usually many people at the gym [in the morning]. People always stare at me; sometimes they take pictures of me.
Would you ever consider not spending so much time in the gym and just living?
For me, it is normal, [like how] other people brush their teeth and take a shower. For me, it is necessary to engage in weight-lifting. It’s part of me. It’s my lifestyle. I do not see myself without sport. It’s sort of [a] pleasure for me. My body thanks me for constant training and an increase in strength.
What do you think about the body-positivity movement, where people love their bodies as they are, not trying to lose weight to change how they look?
I think that the important thing is being in harmony. If a person feels good, then let him live as he wants. We should never judge. We need to develop the acceptance and tolerance of any human’s choice, and we have no right to judge anyone.
What about your diet?
I really like all kinds of vegetables and especially broccoli. And regular cabbage and cauliflower. I always make myself salads out of them. I also really like nuts, but I don’t eat many of them because they are very high-calorie. For fruit, it’s grapefruit and apples. I’m a raw-dieter. For many years, I have eaten only raw foods. We need to love nature and stop polluting it. Stop eating animals. I want to encourage everyone to become a vegetarian like me.
Are there any treats that you allow yourself to have, like chocolate?
Not lately because I’m working to have definition, especially definition in the abs. I’ve noticed that even if I eat one ice cream, the next day, I have a thicker fat layer, so I try not to eat that.
In the past, you’ve said you lived on light and air, but now you eat raw foods. What did you mean when you said you only lived on light and air? Was it a misinterpretation?
Maybe it meant that I fast. But most of the week I do not starve. I just do not see any reason for it. I do follow a raw food diet.
Is it hard to buy clothes for your body shape?
Yes, it’s very hard. I usually have to take everything in at the waist. I try to order clothes custom-made to size. I get help. I have a friend who’s a designer Dominika777 and she designs clothes especially for me. They’re very pretty and creative, and I like to wear them because I’m the only one who has them.
How are the spiritual seminars going? How do you combine that with your singing career?
I’m an artistic person and I have a wide range of activities and that doesn’t get in the way at all of singing and conducting seminars. I conduct seminars a couple times a year. Some people think I do this in order to make money, but that’s not the case. It’s not possible to make money in just a couple of times. I do it only to help people a bit to find themselves in this life. My next seminar will be in Moscow in September, and the topic will be purpose. I believe that every person needs to find a purpose in life and then he will be happy. [The seminars] are absolutely for anyone who wants to attend. I’m engaged in organizing them entirely through my own efforts, because it’s really important for me to help people and I believe that my own purpose in this world is actually to enlighten people, so I try to fulfill it.
What’s the main theme at the seminars?
Well, one way or another, regardless of the topic at the seminar, I try to put it into the framework of out-of-body travel — that is, when the spirit leaves the body and travels around other worlds. I believe that this is the most important thing for people to understand that this life isn’t the only one, that there are many lives and our possibilities are endless.
You teach people how to go out of body?
Yes, I teach people this. I’m a teacher at the school for out-of-body travel. We even have a film about how to do this. I play the lead role. It’s called Phase. It’s in every language possible. For all people.
Is there any connection between your out-of-body experiences and the amount of time you spend working on your earthly body?
Yes and no. Despite the fact that our earthly body and our spirit are closely linked and should be in harmony, these two aspects of my work are not related. But the sport perhaps echoes the meditation. For me, this is dynamic meditation. It is easy to reach emptiness and be in the moment, because the mind is silent [when I’m working out].
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Until I found musical concerts, I saw myself living in Mexico leading the seminars, which are becoming more and more popular every year. But after I tried singing onstage, I realized that I’ll be doing this fifty-fifty. I really like it, and I would really like to live in Latin America doing seminars and concerts. I have a musical education, and I’ve been studying with a professional music teacher for many years. I want to wish for everyone to learn to love themselves. And when they learn to love themselves, they will be loved by others.
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