Another magazine is facing an uproar from fans who think its editors took Photoshopping too far. This time, it’s InStyle, which features a barely recognizable Kerry Washington on the cover.
The March issue features the Scandal star, who is under some kind of extreme lighting that makes her look skin look lighter.
Washington proudly showed off the cover on Instagram, where fans instantly started complaining about it. “Not cool, not you!!!” one person wrote, while another posted, “what did they do to her?”
“I'm glad that you made the cover, but you should speak out about them lightening your skin. Not cool,” another fan wrote. “Tired of the media doing this type of stuff. We are ALL beautiful. Leave everyone natural please.”
InStyle later posted a statement, explaining that they did not try to change the color of Washington’s skin.
“While we did not digitally lighten Kerry’s skin tone, our cover lighting has likely contributed to this concern. We understand that this has resulted in disappointment and hurt,” the magazine said. “We are listening, and the feedback has been valuable. We are committed to ensuring that this experience has a positive influence on the ways in which we present all women going forward.”
Washington, who plays Olivia Pope on the hit ABC series, tweeted a link to the statement. “Beautiful statement. Thank u 4 opening this convo. Its an important 1 that needs to be had,” she wrote.
Of course, this is hardly the first time a magazine has been accused of taking Photoshop to the extreme. One of the most famous incidents was last year, when Vogue was criticized for retouching pictures of Lena Dunham.
cover via InStyle