When you combine a mainstream magazine, photography and a dark skinned woman, skin lightening controversy is inevitable. Such is the case with Vanity Fair, which is under fire for lightening an image of Oscar nominee Lupita Nyong’o.
On Wednesday (January 16) the mag released a photo of the 12 Years a Slave actress’ used in a Q &A interview. To the surprise of anyone who does not suffer from color blindness, the ebony colored actress of Kenyan descent’s skin tone was noticeably lighter.
Think people are seeing things? Below is a picture of Nyong’o on the red carpet at the Golden Globes. Then look at the Vanity Fair photo on the flip. Yeah, not even close. Interestingly, another photo from the same photographer, Miguel Reveriego, in the same story is a bit closer to her natural color, but not much.
So far there is no official statement from Vanity Fair or its publisher Conde Nast.
For the record, Lupita Nyong’o is gorgeous as is, and doesn’t need any lightening be it from camera effects or Photoshop magic. Although it’s probably a case of the former, contrary to society’s norms, Black is beautiful. It’s a shame this must still be stressed in 2014.
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Photos: WENN.com, Vanity Fair/Miguel Reveriego
