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UK magazine apologises for PhotoShopping Lupita’s hair

By MWENDE KASUJJA November 11th, 2017 2 min read

A UK magazine that altered Oscar award winner Lupita Nyong’o’s looks on its front cover has apologised for the goof.

Shockingly however, Grazia Daily UK refused to take responsibility for the alteration, instead blaming the photographer who oversaw the photo shoot.

“Grazia magazine would like to make it clear that at no point did they make any editorial request to the photographer for Lupita Nyong’o’s hair to be altered on this week’s cover, nor did we alter it ourselves,” it said in a statement on Friday.

EDITORIAL STANDARDS

“But we apologise unreservedly for not upholding the highest of editorial standards in ensuring that we were aware of all alterations that had been made.”

Lupita had on Friday morning attached three images from the photo shoot with two depicting her with long curly hair and another with short hair.

“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,” she wrote.

She explained that had she been consulted, she would have explained that she “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”.

APOLOGY NOT ENOUGH

Online users had lashed at Grazia for editing out Lupita’s curly hair and not even the apology would assuage them.

candy_snob wrote on the magazine’s page, “What a joke of a publication and “apology”! Not only was this “unreservedly” insincere, but 100% false. Your publication has full control of what is sent in final copy. There is no way such a gross oversight could get past any level of editor without their approval. Your editors need to be held fully accountable or else this just looks like a disgusting PR stunt and the one to suffer is this amazingly beautiful and intelligent actor.”

Sonayment added, “Sorry to say but this is a Lame Excuse and there is no way changes were made without your say. I will still read your magazine but I believe someone is lying. Shame On You.”