14 DAY TRIAL // By now, everyone must know that what we see of celebrities in magazines and on promotional materials resembles the real life person only remotely, if at all in some cases. While no one can hold wanting to look better against anyone, even if that means “telling” a little white lie, the latest Vogue issue, which features singer Adele, has managed to upset fans and media representatives alike.
Adele, a singer of international fame and with a voice that makes her one of the strongest musical presences of her generation, is not model-sized, that much is for certain. Then again, she is no Beth Ditto either, another British singer who takes pride in being overweight, up to the point of posing with little to no clothes to reveal her body. This only makes the latest photos of Adele, shot by renowned photographer Anne Leibovitz, all the more weird, since there would have been virtually nothing wrong to show her as she truly is, it has been noted.
Of course, this is not the first time that a famous magazine takes a celebrity the public already knows and loves and alters her image beyond recognition. It is the first time, though, that the alteration is this obvious, sending off the message that being a bit plumper is simply not seen with kind eyes by an industry that is way too focused on body image as it is. The photo spread also says that Adele has to be thinner if she truly wants to be accepted, no matter how good her vocal skills are (and they are, as all critics agree).
“‘I feel so proper,’ says Adele, laughing, as she eyes herself in the mirror of a Los Angeles hotel room while trying on the shapely black satin dress that Barbara Tfank has made for her to wear to the Grammy Awards. ‘From ladette to lady!’ Adele’s hair has been frantically teased and back-combed and looks ‘a little messed up,’ says her hairdresser, Kevin Posey, ‘like she could have done it,’ and her gray-green eyes are elaborately framed à la Dusty Springfield. ‘You look gorgeous!’ says her manager, Jonathan Dickins. ‘I’m all proud!’ Her product manager, Doneen Lombardi, comes in to see the effect and promptly bursts into tears.” Vogue writes in an excerpt accompanying the interview with the singer.
What’s ironic is that, if anyone with a pair of good eyes compares the Vogue photo and a picture of Adele on the red carpet, they immediately see the difference, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton says. In this context, what the Vogue piece says amounts to nothing but pure hypocrisy, he further adds, and the public should not tolerate or accept such behavior.
