14 DAY TRIAL // On June 20, a Twitter user named Princess Breanna shared the photo above with the online community. The image has since gone viral. In fact, it is now so popular that saying it might be the most controversial selfie of the year could prove an understatement.
At first glance, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the photo. Just another teenage girl taking a selfie and sharing it with her Twitter followers, many would too quickly say. However, there is more to this image than meets the eye.
Long story short, this selfie that is now making the rounds on the Internet was taken at the Auschwitz concentration camp in present day Poland. So, basically, it was taken at a place where hundreds of thousands of people were killed during WWII.
Hence, folks are having trouble figuring out what Princes Breanna was smiling about and why she seemed so besides herself with joy at the time when she snapped the selfie. What's more, there are many who think this photo to be nothing short of distasteful.
“How can you be happy and smile in this pic? Do you not understand the horrors and murders that happened here? I'd be crying,” one user identified as Tara Simpson says. “I just hope one day she understands why this is so hurtful,” a Cynthia Dringus adds.
Contrary to what one would expect given the amount of negative attention this selfie has received over the past few days, Princess Breanna has not yet removed the photo from her Twitter profile. On the contrary, the selfie is still there for everyone to see and criticize.
Looking to defend herself, the teenager told those busy trashing her and her selfie that the only reason why she was smiling at the time when she snapped the photo was because the trip to Auschwitz reminded her of her father, who passed away about a year ago.
“Yeah, I do understand what happened there. I studies it for years with my dad and we always planned to visit there but he died a year ago, so that trip actually meant something to me and I was happy about it,” the girl wrote in a message to Tara Simpson.
Not at all surprisingly, quite a lot of people were touched by this story, and took to Twitter to defend the teenage girl and her Internet-given right to take selfies when and wherever she might want to, and then share them online for everybody to stare at and comment on.
“Has anyone thought that maybe @Princess BMM was smiling because she finally got to visit a place that was important to her? #yallarestupid,” user emma herrmann says. “People are just overreacting. I'm so sorry about your dad and I'm happy for you were able to go xo,” adds daisy garner.