Did InStyle airbrush & ‘whitewash’ Kerry Washington’s March cover?

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This is Kerry Washington on the cover of the March issue of InStyle. I merely glanced at the cover and began to read some of the quotes, wondering if any of it would be good enough to cover. But then I saw that people on social media were freaking out about the cover. Specifically, Kerry’s skin on the cover. There was an immediate backlash about the “whitewashing” of Kerry, not just lightening her skin, but airbrushing some of her features to make her look less like herself. I had to look again… and while I do think they lightened her skin, I don’t think they airbrushed her features into oblivion, like some magazines do to other women (regardless of race). But yeah, the different in skin tone is notable. It was so bad that InStyle had to release a statement within the same news cycle or else Kerry-loonies were going to picket their offices. Here’s the statement:

We are super fans of Kerry Washington here at InStyle. To feature her on the cover of our March spring fashion issue is both an honor and a delight. We have heard from those who have spoken out about our newsstand cover photograph, concerned that Kerry’s skin tone was lightened.

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. 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.

[From InStyle]

Kerry tweeted a link to the statement and wrote: “Beautiful statement. Thank u 4 opening this convo. Its an important 1 that needs to be had.” Yeah, it’s bad. I feel sorry for actresses who get slammed with criticism for editorial decisions that are not even their call, you know? And hey, at least InStyle didn’t use the same people who did Bobby Jindal’s portrait.

As for the actual interview… well, none of it was as interesting as the conversation about the cover. Kerry says she loves bold colors and prints and bigger fashion risks and Olivia Pope is more about a neutral palette. She talks about how she got back into shape after giving birth, which included “pilates, Tracy Anderson pregnancy DVDs, hiking, the elliptical machine and yoga.” That sounds like a lot of stuff. She also discusses her feelings about mommy guilt – you can read more here.

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Photos courtesy of InStyle, WENN.

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68 Responses to “Did InStyle airbrush & ‘whitewash’ Kerry Washington’s March cover?”

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  1. Bridget says:

    The over lit her. Not only did it end up lightening her skin, it looks bad.

    And InStyle interviews are always terrible. They’re even more toothless than People’s. Go figure, a celebrity says they got back into shape with Pilates, yoga, and some hiking.

    • Dawn says:

      This.

    • Kitten says:

      It looks terrible. She is such a stunning woman and I would personally KILL for her skin tone. WTH would they intentionally create that lightening effect??

      Awful.

      • Senaber says:

        I think they were going for “ethereal” but ended up with “Caucasian.”

      • Bridget says:

        InStyle is always about the gauzy, well lit beauty shot, but how did this even make it past the test photos? It’s not ethereal. I don’t think this much light would have made any skin tone look ethereal.

      • Kitten says:

        It makes her looks sallow and a bit sickly, instead of her normal glow.

      • Mo qui says:

        But it’s ok that she wearing a wig on her head and that they minimized her massive receding forehead ( got from constantly wearing wigs) But skin lighter obviously because camera lightening .
        ” whitewash”
        Not why blackwomen celebrities can’t be seen without fake hair on their head wigs or our weaves .
        People are ridiclous creatures.

      • Kitten says:

        Um, wigs, weaves, extension are not exclusive to black women.

    • swack says:

      At least she isn’t saying she lost all her weight because she breastfeeds.

    • umm says:

      That’s Kerry? The first pic looks nothing like her. They completely changed her face.

    • Christo says:

      Yes, the washed-out lighting lifts her cheekbones so high that, upon first glance, I thought Zoe Saldana was covering this month’s issue.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Clearly I am in the minority here, but I actually like the back lit lighting for the cover. Usually Instyle covers are soooooo much the same, and they look very flat and generic. I like that they mixed things up a bit, and I think with the light hitting her face from behind, it shows the planes of her gorgeous cheekbones.

      • Someonestolemyname says:

        …….looks sort of like Kerry Washington, but they took the vibrancy out of her.
        Love her though.

        I don’t see where some are saying she looks white in the photo.

        P.S. I think the cover looks like Sanna Nathan (excuse spelling)

      • Ari says:

        YES! SHe looks just like Sanaa on this cover I thought it was her haha

  2. OriginalTessa says:

    Oh my GOD, what did they do to Kerry??

    • BangersandMash says:

      I know right?!

      Whoa, dudes… Whoa!! This is not photo doctoring ‘to an inch of her life’ … this is death.

    • zinjojo says:

      They turned her into Christy Turlington.

      Seriously. It says a lot about their editorial staff that this photo went all the way through and ended up on the cover.

      • Bridget says:

        This is why they do lighting tests. How did someone not notice this?!?

      • Santolina says:

        You’re right — good eye! One Christy is enough. It’s like they ‘shopped her into a Caucasian woman. Idiots. At least they owned up to it. Will they actually change their policy? We’ll be watching you, InStyle.

  3. Joy says:

    The skin tone barely registered with me. WHOSE FACE IS THAT??

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Yeah, I didn’t recognize her. It may be her facial expression, but it doesn’t look like her to me.

    • Sarah says:

      Thank you. If it didn’t say Kerry Washington, I would have had no idea.

    • doofus says:

      they changed the shape of her eyes on the cover, made them more angled up at the corners, a la Kim Kardashian. also looks like they narrowed the bridge of her nose.

      she is SO damn pretty…I don’t know why they had to alter her features at all.

    • lucy2 says:

      Yeah, I barely recognized her. What’s the point of hiring a celeb for something if by the end they don’t even look like themselves?

  4. LoisLane says:

    Wow i didn’t recognise her at first. The features’ airbrushing is insane on this one. Speechless..

    • Felice says:

      Yeah the fact I didn’t recognize her makes me say “Yes.” She has gorgeous skin without all that.

  5. Wren33 says:

    I read a really interesting piece on film and skin tone recently, but can’t find the link. Film was made with white people’s skin in mind, so black skin tends to either be too dark or too light in comparison with the background. I’m not sure how things have changed with digital cameras, which I think make it a lot easier to selectively lighten and darken areas.

    • Felice says:

      Yeah I read that too. It was first brought up when there was controversy about I believe People lightening Lupita’s skin.

    • Alexis says:

      I think it’s standard lighting they are talking about. Compare how Mindy Kaling looked on the Office versus her own show; it’s amazing how different it is when the light is designed to flatter darker skin tones.

  6. kri says:

    WTF? “Lighting” and “lightening” are two different things, magazine a$$holes. Sorry, scrambling excuse.

  7. David says:

    She is a stunning woman !

  8. Marshmellow says:

    She’s giving me Alyssa Milano vibes

  9. Josefa says:

    I’m not sure if they airbrushed her that much either. Kerry is so, SO pretty, but I’ve never found her photogenic. She looks about 10 times better in motion. And you’d be surprised to see how much your face can change with different lightening, haircuts and expressions.

    EDIT; I’m not talking about skin tone here. They definitely made her look whiter. What a shame.

  10. Janet says:

    The fashion magazines always white up a black woman when they put one on the cover and I’m sick and tired of it. They do the same to Lupita Nyong’o.

  11. claire says:

    That cover photo looks odd in addition to the lighting. Her face looks narrower. Maybe that is her though…she’s been subtly changing through plastic surgery for years now. I hate what she’s done with her lips. They’re so distracting.

  12. Lucy says:

    The lighting is bad too (as in, the illumination).

  13. scout says:

    Photoshopping took all her natural beauty, why do stars approve the release of pics like these or don’t they have any say in this?

  14. MrsBPitt says:

    I love when actresses say they spend hours and hours of time exercising to get back into shape and then say they have Mommy guilt! Can’t they wait at least eight weeks to bond with their baby, before the rigorous workouts start!!! Of course, Hollywood DEMANDS its actresses to be back in shape immediately after pregnancy…so, I guess they don’t have much choice…

  15. Observer says:

    I don’t see the big deal, really.
    Yes, it’s clearly a lighting issue and not a lightening issue and it happens. No one freaks out when Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston gets their muted green/hazel and already blue eyes photoshopped blue or BLUER so much it looks super fake.
    Or when white actresses get their lips plumped up with photoshop when they look nothing like that IRL.
    When people make a big deal about this every single time, even when it’s an innocent lighting misstake, you actually make it harder for black actresses to get magazine covers because the editors think:” Why bother”.
    It’s not fair but that’s how it goes.
    Dark skin is hard to lit, sometimes you’ll get a paler look that looks sort of ashy, like this cover. Other times it’s due to the actresses own skin color and whether or not she has a tan or not, or depending on the season, a paler look that one gets during winter times.
    Not every single thing is malicious.

    • moodgirl says:

      Blue eyes bluer is far from making a black woman whiter, which is what InStyle attempted to do. This has been done before – the photo of O.J. Simpson on the cover of Time that was darkened far beyond his actual skin color. Black = bad, white = good. It’s supposed to be “subliminal” so the editors are shocked when it’s picked up on.

    • Kim1 says:

      Apples and oranges
      Check out the documentary “Dark Girls” to understand why making her appear lighter is a sensitive issue.

    • Miran says:

      Changing a white woman’s eye color is not even remotely the same as lightening a POC skintone as you are literally erasing their racial identity.

  16. Chinoiserie says:

    Isn´t everybody phoshopped to death these days? Nothing unusual.

  17. QQ says:

    IDK who that lady is but in that there cover??/ Nah That Is NOT Kerry Washington.. I wont buy it or believe it

  18. manta says:

    “As for the actual interview… well, none of it was as interesting…”
    Given, the magazine is In Style,that the headlines surrounding Kerry Washington’s face are about cleaning a closet, revitalizing hair and skin products, was substance really expected in the interview?
    It’s a shame that to maintain her exposure an actress has to do all of these style, deco, fitness mags. I mean, it’s perfectly ok to do them if it’s a personal liking, but too often it looks as if some agent/handler booked that for them and told them to show up.
    Maybe if she was actually talking to a movie/entertainment/business mag, she could bring something interesting.

    • lucy2 says:

      It is a shame – the times I’ve seen her speak in more in depth interviews and conversations, she’s a very intelligent and interesting person. But In Style is definitely stuck in the shallow end.

      • Josefa says:

        Yup. I don’t mind when celebs like Jennifer Aniston do interviews like that – because her “serious” interviews aren’t something to be missed. But Kerry is so much better than this. Not blaming her, though. It’s just sad to see her reduced to this.

  19. Velvet Elvis says:

    I also thought it was Padma Lakshmi. Lighting, my ass.

  20. Ann says:

    They managed to make a beautiful woman look bland.

  21. Ann says:

    I wouldn’t recognize her. Their photoshop job made her look so bland.

  22. CM says:

    Bad job on this. I thought it was Soledad O’Brien, at first.

  23. Miran says:

    The photographer that did my wedding photos altered my skintone to make me ‘less yellow’, and ‘closer to my husband’, I was pissed. Needless to say I didn’t pay for those photos.

  24. LilyT says:

    The cover does her NO justice. She is an absolutely STUNNING woman. I don’t know why they ran with that one.

  25. TotallyBiased says:

    “I think they were going for “ethereal” but ended up with “Caucasian.””
    @Senaber wins for pull quote (or perhaps even “Caption This”!)