Elle magazine denies it lightened Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe’s skin for the cover of their 25th anniversary issue.
“It’s not a controversy,” the magazine’s editor in chief, Robbie Myers, told E! “We absolutely did not lighten her skin.”
“At a photo shoot, in a studio, that is a fashion shoot, that’s glamorous, the lighting is different. The photography is different than a red carpet shot from paparazzi,” she went on.
In a statement, the magazine’s publicist downplays the differences between the cover and Sidibe’s appearance. Nothing out of the ordinary was done. We have four separate covers this month and Gabby’s cover was not retouched any more or less than the others. We had 25 cover worthy subjects in our portfolio and we chose Gabby because of who she is.”
A rep for the 27-year-old actress, who currently stars on Showtime’s “The Big C,” tells AccessHollywood.com, “Gabourey is absolutely thrilled to be on the cover of ELLE magazine’s 25th anniversary issue.”
The magazine has also received criticism because curvy Sidibe is cropped at her chest, while the three other cover images featuring Megan Fox, Lauren Conrad and Amanda Seyfried are full-length.
“We shot this as a story of exuberant young women changing the world. If you take a looks at the portfolio in its entirety, each of the women were shot in different ways and for different reasons,” explains the magazine’s rep.
This isn’t the first time Sidibe’s appearance in a magazine has drawn controversy.
Last February, she was left off Vanity Fair’s Young Hollywood cover even though she was interviewed on the inside.
Via: The Hollywood Rporter
