14 DAY TRIAL // Oscar-nominee Gabourey Sidibe, one of the most promising actresses of the moment, finds herself in the middle of yet another controversy, though it’s not something she did herself.
For the 25th anniversary of Elle, the magazine is coming out with 4 different covers, one of which shows Gabby in close-up frame. The others are with Megan Fox, Lauren Conrad and Amanda Seyfried.
The special issue is dedicated to 20-year-olds with very promising careers in showbiz, and Sidibe certainly fits the bill here.
Still, her cover is getting a lot of people talking online, E! informs. For one, Elle seems to have made her look whiter; secondly, she’s the only one featured in close-up because the other 3 stars are in larger frames.
“Speculation has been running rampant on the Web that the folks behind the new Elle cover featuring the Oscar-nominated Precious star purposely lightened her skin,” E! Online informs.
Several women’s and celebrity websites are saying Elle made Gabby appear whiter because of the other three stars – and because the industry continues to discriminate against Blacks.
Then, there’s the question of Sidibe’s weight. While the other three women are pictured from a distance, Gabby is shown in close up, which has made many believe that the magazine is indirectly saying she’s too big to be photographed like the others.
“While the other three all appear in full-length poses, the photo of Gabourey has been cropped at mid-chest level, and thus, not showing her full-figured frame,” E! writes.
While all this debate is raging on online, Elle insists they did nothing different with Sidibe as compared to the other 3 stars on the cover.
The picture is retouched to a certain degree, a spokesperson for the mag explains, but not a greater one than the others. Certainly, no “bleaching” has been done to it.
“Nothing out of the ordinary was done. We have four separate covers this month and Gabby’s cover was not retouched any more or less than the others,” reads Elle’s statement.
“We had 25 cover-worthy subjects in our portfolio and we chose Gabby because of who she is. We shot this as a story of exuberant young women changing the world,” the mag further says.
“If you take a look at the portfolio, each of the women were shot in different ways and for different reasons,” the statement also says. Plus, any woman looks different in a studio shot than in a paparazzi picture.
As for the controversy on her weight, EW believes this is just politics that serves no purpose. We should celebrate Gabby’s inclusion in an industry that favors types (white, thin, etc.) and not try to find fault where there’s none, the report says.