Elle Under Fire For Gabourey Sidibe Cover
(Credit: Getty/Elle) Sidibe, 27, an Oscar nominee for her role in last year's "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" was one of four actresses chosen for the four covers that Elle is publishing in October to mark its 25th anniversary. The others are Megan Fox, Lauren Conrad and Amanda Seyfried.
The issue is dedicated to 25 "Most Notable Women Under 25." Nevermind that Sidibe, who now stars in "The Big C" on TV, is older than 25; that plays no part in the controversy. What has critics upset is that Sidibe's photo is closely cropped to show her head and shoulders, while the other actresses are seen from the hips up.
Other critics are complaining that Sidibe, the only African-American actress of the four, has her skin lightened in the photo.
In a statement to Yahoo, the magazine said that "nothing out of the ordinary" had been done to the photograph.
"We have four separate covers this month and Gabby's cover was not retouched any more or less than the others" it read.
"We had 25 cover-worthy subjects in our portfolio and we chose Gabby because of who she is.
"We shot this as a story of exuberant young women changing the world. If you take a look at the portfolio, each of the women were shot in different ways and for different reasons."
In Mediabistro, a website that covers the industry, Matthew Fleischer wrote, "Gabby is actually several shades darker than she is pictured in Elle. Photoshopping is quite common in magazines, but when they choose to lighten a dark skinned Black woman, it is racist no matter what the original intent was."
This is not the first time that skin lightening charges have cropped up around celebrities. Cosmetic companies came under fire a few years ago for reportedly brightening the skin tones of singer Beyonce and actress Freida Pinto in advertisements.
Elle Magazine: Apologize for Trying to 'Whiten' Indian Skin
It looks like Elle had quite the white Christmas.
Bollywood actor and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is featured on the cover of Elle Magazine looking far paler than she is in real life. Most fans are up in arms and an appalled Ms. Bachchan is considering a lawsuit against the magazine.
Consumers have long been inundated with ads that use prominent Bollywood actors to promote skin-lightening products. In a country that produces gorgeous women of color, it is sad that Ms. Rai-Bachchan, who is relatively light-skinned, is one of the very few with some cross-over appeal. To see magazines like Elle further enforce the color hierarchy of crossover appeal by making Aishwarya appear lighter-skinned is a slap in the face.
This is the second racial debacle surrounding Elle. The American version was criticized for its October 2010 issue, which featured actress Gabourey Sidibeon on one of its four celebrity covers with noticeably lighter skin than her natural complexion.
Lets tell Elle Magazine to make a commitment to moving away from using white as a standard for beauty, and demand a public statement and apology.
For regular updates on the 'Elle Whitening' campaign please follow us on follow us on Facebook, just click 'Like' at the top of our Facebook page and check in from time to time.
Bollywood actor and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is featured on the cover of Elle Magazine looking far paler than she is in real life. Most fans are up in arms and an appalled Ms. Bachchan is considering a lawsuit against the magazine.
Consumers have long been inundated with ads that use prominent Bollywood actors to promote skin-lightening products. In a country that produces gorgeous women of color, it is sad that Ms. Rai-Bachchan, who is relatively light-skinned, is one of the very few with some cross-over appeal. To see magazines like Elle further enforce the color hierarchy of crossover appeal by making Aishwarya appear lighter-skinned is a slap in the face.
This is the second racial debacle surrounding Elle. The American version was criticized for its October 2010 issue, which featured actress Gabourey Sidibeon on one of its four celebrity covers with noticeably lighter skin than her natural complexion.
Lets tell Elle Magazine to make a commitment to moving away from using white as a standard for beauty, and demand a public statement and apology.
For regular updates on the 'Elle Whitening' campaign please follow us on follow us on Facebook, just click 'Like' at the top of our Facebook page and check in from time to time.
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