Lena Dunham continued her crusade against photoshopping today by refusing to allow anyone to tweak her image before photos are published.
Her latest encounter with photoshopping came last week, when she called out Spanish magazine Tentaciones for publishing an older photo of her that she didn’t recognize. But the magazine quickly responded, insisting that they were just using what they were given. It turns out that the photo was taken in 2013, originally for Entertainment Weekly, which also said it didn’t alter it.
Nevertheless, Dunham still took to her Lenny Letter this week to write a long essay about her experiences with photoshopping, even recalling the infamous 2014 Vogue photos. The chance that she might not recognize herself again has made her decide to stop allowing photos of herself to be photoshopped.
“The gap between what I believe and what I allow to be done to my image has to close now. If that means no more fashion-magazine covers, so be it,” Dunham wrote. “I respect the people who create those magazines and the job they have to do. I thank them for letting me make a few appearances and for making me feel gorgeous along the way. But I bid farewell to an era when my body was fair game.”
Dunham continued, “If any magazines want to guarantee they'll let my stomach roll show and my reddened cheek make an appearance, I am your girl Friday. Anything that will let me be honest with you. But moreover, I want to be honest with me.”
Dunham currently stars on HBO’s Girls, which she created.