Smashing Pumpkins Singer Billy Corgan Embraces His Port Wine Birthmark After Trying to ‘Hide’ It His Entire Life

“I’m a fan of body positivity movements because at the end of the day it is about celebrating what makes us ‘us,’ ” he said

 

Billy Corgan is embracing being comfortable in his skin.

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman, 57, showed off his port wine birthmark in an Instagram post on Monday, Sept. 2, encouraging his social media followers to “find peace with who you are.”

“I’m a fan of body positivity movements because at the end of the day it is about celebrating what makes us ‘us,’ ” the two-time Grammy winner wrote.

Corgan’s post began with a photo of him wearing a purple sweater with its sleeves rolled up to show off the birthmark, which covers parts of his hand, wrist and arm. He also included a photo of model Carlotta Bertotti as an example of someone “with a birthmark who has embraced her ‘difference’ with grace.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, port wine stains result from abnormally formed capillaries — tiny blood vessels under your skin — dilating and becoming “more open or stretched out than normal.”

While they are usually harmless, the medical center states that the birthmarks usually get darker and thicker over time and “may become raised rather than flat and smooth.”

The musician continued his Instagram caption by explaining why he used to be uncomfortable with his birthmark.

 

 

“My point being that my whole life I’ve endeavoured to hide my ‘port wine’ birthmarks because as you can imagine I was teased unmercifully about them as a child,” he wrote.

Read More: Angelina Jolie Wears Real-Life Jewelry Belonging to Opera Legend Maria Callas in Biopic Maria — And on the Red Carpet

“So much so that people who have known me for a decade are shocked when they finally ‘see it.’ And even now strangers will stop me on the street not because they recognize me but because they think something is wrong with me that requires medical attention,” Corgan continued.

After listing some of the questions he used to get about his birthmark, including ‘Are you sick?’ and ‘Is it contagious?’ he ended his post by sharing a “positive message for the day.”

“Whoever you are, I hope you find peace with who you are because: I would like to know that person and no one else,” his message read.

Corgan’s post comes days after he confirmed to PEOPLE that he and his wife, Chloé Mendel Corgan, 31, are expecting their third baby together.

“We are overjoyed to announce that our family is growing! It’s an exciting time for us, although unexpected,” the expectant mom told PEOPLE. This baby will join the couple’s two children, Philomena, 5, and Augustus, 8.

Watch Movies: My Flixer HD