14 DAY TRIAL // In the ongoing debate of whether a line has been crossed in the amount of retouching that goes into every promotional image that we see in the printed media or online, Nicki Minaj should prove a voice that could tip the scales in favor of a resounding “yes.”
The rapper took part in a shoot for ESPN magazine wit NBA star Kobe Bryant and, when she got her hands on the cover, she immediately went online to bash whoever did the retouching on the photo because of the way they digitally altered her face.
“When retouching goes wrong,” Nicki writes on her Twitter, with a link to an Instagram photo. You can see the finished photo attached to this article as well.
“I love my personal unretouched photos where my forehead doesn't mysteriously grow in length,” the star says, pointing out to the obvious fact that her face had been stretched to the point where she didn’t look like herself anymore.
Still, Nicki says, she was “so honored to be a part of this with Kobe. Had a blast.”
In all fairness, Nicki could have been more aggressive towards ESPN for what they did to her face, but it’s to her credit that she wasn’t. By posting the unretouched images as well, whether she wanted to or not, she rang an alarm on the importance of keeping digital manipulation down to a sensible minimum.
In other words, as it has been said before, it’s ok to edit out stray hairs or to adjust the light in a photo. However, to take the model and change him or her beyond recognition by altering facial features or even skin color might be taking it a step too far, while also sending a wrong message to consumers.
As of now, ESPN is yet to address Nicki’s comments in any way.
I love my personal unretouched photos where my forehead doesn't mysteriously grow in length. š š http://t.co/8beP6MXd19
— IG: @NickiMinaj (@NICKIMINAJ) January 23, 2014