Angelina Jolie is breaking records, becoming the fastest user on Instagram to accumulate 1 million followers.
The actress finally joined the popular social media platform over the weekend and quickly became the fastest account on the app to reach the big milestone.
She made the decision to make her public profile on August 20 in order to share a particularly heartbreaking post: a letter from a teenage girl in Afghanistan. With the letter, Jolie gave her followers some insight into how the current political issues are affecting the people who are now facing Taliban rule.
Not only did the Mr. & Mrs. Smith actress quickly gain 1 million followers, Jolie reportedly accumulated 2.1 million new followers in under three hours, beating David Attenborough’s four hours 44 minutes and Ruper Grint’s four hours, one minute. Now, just three days later, her account is sitting at 7.7 million.
In her first post on Instagram, Angelina introduced fans to the heartbreaking letter, writing, “This is a letter I was sent from a teenage girl in Afghanistan. Right now, the people of Afghanistan are losing their ability to communicate on social media and to express themselves freely. So I’ve come on Instagram to share their stories and the voices of those across the globe who are fighting for their basic human rights.”
She continued, “I was on the border of Afghanistan two weeks before 9/11, where I met Afghan refugees who had fled the Taliban. This was twenty years ago. It is sickening to watch Afghans being displaced yet again out of the fear and uncertainty that has gripped their country. To spend so much time and money, to have blood shed and lives lost only to come to this, is a failure almost impossible to understand.”
“Like others who are committed, I will not turn away,” She concluded her post with a call to action to help those in Afghanistan. “I will continue to look for ways to help. And I hope you’ll join me.”
Fans couldn’t be more excited to see Angelina Jolie not only joining Instagram, but doing so--after so many years--for a good cause. The actress’ comment section is flooded with followers and fellow celebs applauding the star and urging her colleagues to do the same.
