Alicia Keys is a classy woman with many accomplishments: singer, songwriter, pianist, producer, actress, wife, mother, and most recently, a judge on the hit singing competition show The Voice. Recently, however, she has been in the news for an entirely different reason.

Last Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards, a high-fashion, red-carpet event, Keys chose to go make-up free, making a statement not only about embracing one's natural beauty but about the beauty standards women are held to. The social media backlash immediately after Keys debuted her look got intense, with critics harping that the #nomakeup movement had gone "too far," while others praised Keys for her bravery and independence.

Makeup culture in the United States is a spectrum. I know many people (myself included) who like to wear a lot of makeup in their everyday life, while many people I know opt to go barefaced or simply wear mascara. Not everyone wants to look like Kim Kardashian every day, so why should we make them?

People wear makeup because they want to. Sure, it can hide your flaws too, but it's first and foremost an art form, an external expression of the self. That being said, in a culture where makeup is seen as the norm, choosing to go without can have the same effect.

What was Keys' response to her critics? Well, being the exceptionally mature, classy woman that she is, Keys is quotes as replying, "Y'all, me choosing to be makeup free doesn't mean I'm anti-makeup! You do you!"

Either way, she is still a queen.