Brazilian butt lifts, or BBLs, have become one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures worldwide.

A BBL is a surgery where a doctor transfers fat from the belly, hips, lower back, or thighs to the buttocks to give the person a more of an hourglass-shaped figure with larger buttocks, according to WebMD. It’s a two-step procedure with doctors removing the fat using liposuction, a cosmetic procedure that sucks out fat with a small plastic tube called a cannula. Then the fat is injected into the buttock area, increasing the volume.

Despite the risk, women are clamoring in greater numbers over the last decade to get a BBL, and celebrities are no exception. It begs the question, is fake the new reality?

The discussion about the culture around the BBL has increased with the death of 32-year-old TV personality Jacky Oh, who appeared on MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out” show as a regular. While her family has not confirmed she died due to complications of a plastic surgery procedure, she did post on social media that she was having a mommy makeover.

A mommy makeover, according to Stanford Medicine, is a combination of various procedures tailored to the patient’s preferences. It can include a tummy tuck, breast augmentation, breast lift, liposuction, and vaginal rejuvenation surgery.

Oh was found unresponsive on the evening of May 31 at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Miami Downtown/Brickell where she was staying, according to a Miami Police Department incident report obtained by The Los Angeles Times. She was transported to Mercy Hospital where, despite resuscitation efforts, she was pronounced dead.

Several media outlets have reported that the plastic surgeon linked to Oh Is “Liposuction & BBL Specialist” Dr. Zachary Okhah, more popularly known as just “Dr. Zach.” The doctor, who has several negative patients reviews online, reportedly performed plastic surgery on Oh before her death.

There are some celebrities who openly tout their BBLs, such as superstar singer SZA.

“I treat my butt like a purse,” SZA 33, told Elle recently. “It’s just there to enhance whatever else. And that’s why I paid for it, because it works all by itself.” 

She said it was her own decision, and not societal pressure or pressure from her record company.

She explained, “I always wanted a really fat ass with less gym time… I didn’t succumb to industry pressure. I succumbed to my own eyes in the mirror and being like, ‘No, I need some more ass.’”

Reality TV star Rollie Shares of the show “Baddies West” has been showing off the BbL she got in May on social media. On Instagram on May 31, she shared before and after photos of her results from her procedure she said she had done by doctors at Goals Plastic Surgery. She said she had 11 pounds removed from her stomach to help her create the “pear-shaped BBW” look that she want, MadameNoire reported.

She even teamed up with Goals Plastic Surgery to offer “The Rollie Special,” where patients can receive a double BBL and Flex Sculpting for a $5,850.

There Have been other victims of the BBL. A 35-year-old woman named Audrey Torres died following a Brazilian Butt Lift procedure performed by Dr. Joseph Castellano more than three years ago. The doctor was later disciplined by the Florida Board of Medicine in connection with her death from a BBL done in 2020. A report showed Dr. Castellano injected fat into Torres’ muscle, which investigators said violated a Florida Department of Health rule regarding BBL procedure, ABC News reported.

A model named Lygia Fazio, 40, also died following complications from a botched butt lift. The single mother of two suffered a stroke amid ongoing complications resulting from the unauthorized cosmetic procedure. In 2013 she had her first BBL.

Years later she underwent a second “clandestine” procedure, purportedly done by a surgeon without the requisite qualifications. The surgeon injected industrial silicone and PMMA fillers into Fazio’s buttocks. PMMA, or polymethylmethacrylate, is a synthetic resin often used as a substitute for glass. It is sold under the trademarks Plexiglas, Lucite and Perspex. In a normal butt lift procedure, tiny PMMA microspheres suspended in a biological fluid are injected via a needle as a soft-tissue filler under the skin.

But in Fazio’s case, the substances spread throughout her body, causing serious infection. She had the PPMA removed, but complications prompted her to be hospitalized for more than three months in 2021, The New York Post reported. But earlier this year, she suffered a stroke, and it was tied to the PPMA removal operation.

SZA (pictured left), YouTube screenshot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXxQ3RqmXk0)/ Jacky Oh, YouTube screenshot (https://people.com/jacky-oh-found-unresponsive-before-death-police-7508923)/