Mia Khalifa has shared her experiences after being asked to speak at the prestigious Oxford University in England.
The former adult star-turned-multi-media personality recently revealed that she had "imposter syndrome" after being asked to share her experiences with the students, but would go on to describe her time there as "the biggest honor of her life".
However, fans have been forced to defend the 30-year-old star after she shared a post highlighting her "dream university outfit" - something that trolls quickly criticized.
Writing in a post shared with her 27 million Instagram followers, Khalifa said: "Yesterday speaking to the Oxford Student Union was one of those life experiences where I was fully aware of how lucky I was to be living it the entire time and trying my best not to let a singular moment go for granted."
She continued: "Thank you so much to the @theoxfordunion for the opportunity to speak at such an historic building and organization.
"I’m humbled and inspired by your passion to instill genuine change in the world and for curating such a diverse list of speakers at your union. What you do is incredible and important and I’m honored to have been on your floor. The imposter syndrome was REAL even though I was there to talk about boundaries and confidence and my life experiences, for which you can judge all you want, but I’m at Oxford [for] what I’ve done with my life since then."
She then shouted out fashion designer Dilara Fındıkoğlu for helping her select her outfit for the evening, writing: "And thank you to @dilarafindikoglu for dressing me in my DREAM uni fit, I felt like I belonged at Gryffindor house at Oxford."
But her corset-inspired outfit was quickly targetted by trolls, with one person writing: "And she wore that".
Others questioned Khalifa being invited to the historic university to begin with, with one Instagram user writing: "Why [the f***] would she be speaking at Oxford", and another commenting: "I still don't understand what she was sharing with oxford students".
These critical comments were swiftly shot down by Mia's fans, who replied with various messages of support for the star.
"I'm amazed to see you be given room to speak in a university known to be very selective, therefore students to be selective in nature," one supporter commented. "Your outfit is maddening but it speaks to your lifestyle, dressing down for thus event would be besides the point [in my opinion].
"I hope there were some listeners who gained insight on what it's like to be a woman who's went through it, and really made life her own. Go you."
Another person added: "All those who comments hateful things, degrade Mia, belittle her; them all are guys hahahah man pls do better."
And a third wrote: Congratulations, Mia!!! This opportunity was so well-deserved. You're a true inspiration to so many young women + non-binary folks around the world, including me. Thank you for being you".
Of course, Khalifa was invited to speak for many reasons, with the Oxford Union putting out the following statement prior to her talk: After almost a decade, Mia has transitioned to become a modern public figure and influencer, rated the number one emerging influencer of 2022 by Lefty.
"After speaking out a few years ago regarding her experience with contractual exploitation in the adult film industry, Khalifa has worked to educate women about the dangers of exploitation in the field, and will be taking to the stage to talk about boundaries, both personal and professional."
This is an important reminder that just because you don't necessarily agree with how somebody became successful and/or overcame adversity, the
ey still did it.
