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.
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.
Photos courtesy of InStyle, WENN.
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.
This.
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.
I think they were going for “ethereal” but ended up with “Caucasian.”
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.
It makes her looks sallow and a bit sickly, instead of her normal glow.
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.
Um, wigs, weaves, extension are not exclusive to black women.
At least she isn’t saying she lost all her weight because she breastfeeds.
^This. LOL
That’s Kerry? The first pic looks nothing like her. They completely changed her face.
Yeah, where;s that Kerry W.cover everyone keeps talking about? All I see is Alyssa Milano.
If not for her mouth, I wouldn’t know who that person is. Her nose and eyes are totally different.
Honestly, I thought it was Padma Lakshmi.
In thought it was Jennifer love Hewitt.
Yes, the washed-out lighting lifts her cheekbones so high that, upon first glance, I thought Zoe Saldana was covering this month’s issue.
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.
…….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)
YES! SHe looks just like Sanaa on this cover I thought it was her haha
Oh my GOD, what did they do to Kerry??
I know right?!
Whoa, dudes… Whoa!! This is not photo doctoring ‘to an inch of her life’ … this is death.
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.
This is why they do lighting tests. How did someone not notice this?!?
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.
The skin tone barely registered with me. WHOSE FACE IS THAT??
Yeah, I didn’t recognize her. It may be her facial expression, but it doesn’t look like her to me.
Had I not been told who it was, I would have not been able to guess.
Yeah, she’s much prettier when she’s not on the cover of this magazine.
This is a tragedy!!
I want my Kerry back!! Whoever this lady is… tell her to go home and bring Kerry back.
LifenStyle… you did this!!!
That’s a photo of a beautiful woman but it’s not Kerry.
Thank you. If it didn’t say Kerry Washington, I would have had no idea.
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.
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?
Wow i didn’t recognise her at first. The features’ airbrushing is insane on this one. Speechless..
Yeah the fact I didn’t recognize her makes me say “Yes.” She has gorgeous skin without all that.
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.
Yeah I read that too. It was first brought up when there was controversy about I believe People lightening Lupita’s skin.
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.
WTF? “Lighting” and “lightening” are two different things, magazine a$$holes. Sorry, scrambling excuse.
She is a stunning woman !
She’s giving me Alyssa Milano vibes
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.
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.
How? I’ve never seen LN lighted on a cover. I have seen similar lightning of Kerry Washington in an InStyle several months ago. It was very noticeable to the point of making her unattractive so it’s not the first time this magazine has done it.
This is what Vanity Fair did to Lupita.
http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2014017/rs_560x378-140117130701-rs_1024x692-140117130218-1024.lupita.cm.11714.jpg
OMG! It doesn’t even look like the same woman.
@Janet
God damn. She looks purple. WTF?!
In the lightened photo she looks like Steve Erkel with short hair.
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.
The lighting is bad too (as in, the illumination).
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?
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…
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.
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.
Apples and oranges
Check out the documentary “Dark Girls” to understand why making her appear lighter is a sensitive issue.
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.
Isn´t everybody phoshopped to death these days? Nothing unusual.
IDK who that lady is but in that there cover??/ Nah That Is NOT Kerry Washington.. I wont buy it or believe it
“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.
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.
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.
I also thought it was Padma Lakshmi. Lighting, my ass.
They managed to make a beautiful woman look bland.
I wouldn’t recognize her. Their photoshop job made her look so bland.
Bad job on this. I thought it was Soledad O’Brien, at first.
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.
The cover does her NO justice. She is an absolutely STUNNING woman. I don’t know why they ran with that one.
“I think they were going for “ethereal” but ended up with “Caucasian.””
@Senaber wins for pull quote (or perhaps even “Caption This”!)