Lupita Nyong'o slams Grazia UK for airbrushing on front cover

The Oscar winner called out the magazine for smoothing her hair to "fit their notion of what beautiful hair looks like"

11 Nov, 2017

Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o, who won an Oscar for her role in 12 Years a Slave, on Friday complained her hair had been airbrushed out of the front cover of women's magazine Grazia UK.

"I am disappointed that @GraziaUK invited me to be on their cover and then edited out and smoothed my hair to fit their notion of what beautiful hair looks like," she said in a lengthy post on Instagram.

As I have made clear so often in the past with every fiber of my being, I embrace my natural heritage and despite having grown up thinking light skin and straight, silky hair were the standards of beauty, I now know that my dark skin and kinky, coily hair are beautiful too. Being featured on the cover of a magazine fulfills me as it is an opportunity to show other dark, kinky-haired people, and particularly our children, that they are beautiful just the way they are. I am disappointed that @graziauk invited me to be on their cover and then edited out and smoothed my hair to fit their notion of what beautiful hair looks like. Had I been consulted, I would have explained that I cannot support or condone the omission of what is my native heritage with the intention that they appreciate that there is still a very long way to go to combat the unconscious prejudice against black women's complexion, hair style and texture. #dtmh

A post shared by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Nov 9, 2017 at 6:11pm PST

She said it was an "omission of what is my native heritage", adding: "There is still a very long way to go to combat the unconscious prejudice against black women's complexion, hair style and texture."

She posted the original image, showing that her frizzy bob of hair had been removed and the rest smoothed out.

The actress said she had viewed being featured on a magazine cover as "an opportunity to show other dark, kinky-haired people, and particularly our children, that they are beautiful just the way they are".

The magazine apologised for the airbrushing but blamed the photographer for the alterations.

"Grazia is committed to representing diversity throughout its pages and apologises unreservedly to Lupita Nyong'o," the magazine said on Twitter.

Beyonce's sister Solange Knowles last month criticised the London Evening Standard magazine for digitally removing her hair braids from its cover.

Knowles posted an original version of the image with the caption "dtmh" (don't touch my hair).

Earlier this week, British Vogue unveiled its December cover which will be the first since Ghana-born Edward Enninful was named as editor in April.

Diversity will feature heavily and the cover model chosen is Adwoa Aboah, a British fashion model and feminist activist of British and Ghanaian descent.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who is also interviewed in the magazine, said Enninful was "showing Britain at its diverse and creative best."