Lupita Nyong'o Grazia Hair Photoshop Controversy

Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o appeared on the latest cover of Grazia UK but one thing is noticeably lacking – her well-known curly hair. Nyong’o took to Instagram to express her dissatisfaction with the magazine, who cropped her hair almost completely off of the cover. Nyong’o posted a picture of the original photo against Grazia‘s misleading November cover.

She wrote:

“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.”

Grazia UK has since issued an apology, according to Fader. This news comes after Solange Knowles had called out The Evening Standard for editing out a braided crown from her recent cover shoot and speaks to the fashion industry’s problematic history of a lack of whole representation.

Read her entire post below.

As I have made clear so often in the past with every fiber of my being, I embrace my natural heritage and despite having grown up thinking light skin and straight, silky hair were the standards of beauty, I now know that my dark skin and kinky, coily hair are beautiful too. 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. Had I been consulted, I would have explained that I 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. #dtmh

A post shared by Lupita Nyong’o (@lupitanyongo) on Nov 9, 2017 at 6:11pm PST