Kerry Washington Ain’t Mad At Photoshop

While a lot of celebrities bemoan the use of Photoshop publicly, claiming that they hate sending the message to women that they need to look a particular way, there are some who embrace the industry standard. One such person is Kerry Washington, who is grateful for a little digital enhancement every once in a while and doesn’t see what the big deal is.

You see, recently Kerry covered AdWeek and her cover… really looked nothing like her. Even Kerry herself wasn’t happy with it and nearly didn’t recognize herself when looking at it, and she was very vocal about this. However, just because she didn’t appreciate the cover doesn’t mean she hates retouching in general.

Here was her original commentary on the cover, which she posted on Instagram:

So…You know me. I'm not one to be quiet about a magazine cover. I always celebrate it when a respected publication invites me to grace their pages. It's an honor. And a privilege. And ADWEEK is no exception. I love ADWEEK. It's a publication I appreciate. And learn from. I've long followed them on Twitter. And when they invited me to do a cover, I was excited and thrilled. And the truth is, I'm still excited. I'm proud of the article. And I like some of the inside images a great deal. But, I have to be honest…I was taken aback by the cover. Look, I'm no stranger to Photoshopping. It happens a lot. In a way, we have become a society of picture adjusters – who doesn't love a filter?!? And I don't always take these adjustments to task but I have had the opportunity to address the impact of my altered image in the past and I think it's a valuable conversation. Yesterday, however, I just felt weary. It felt strange to look at a picture of myself that is so different from what I look like when I look in the mirror. It's an unfortunate feeling. That being said. You all have been very kind and supportive. Also, as I've said, I'm very proud of the article. There are a few things we discussed in the interview that were left out. Things that are important to me (like: the importance of strong professional support and my awesome professional team) and I've been thinking about how to discuss those things with anyone who is interested, in an alternate forum. But until then…Grab this week's ADWEEK. Read it. I hope you enjoy it. And thank you for being patient with me while I figured out how to post this in a way that felt both celebratory and honest. XOXOXOX

A photo posted by Kerry Washington (@kerrywashington) on Apr 5, 2016 at 2:46pm PDT

And here are her new comments, which she made at Oprah’s SuperSoul Session conference in LA on Saturday (via US Weekly):

“I want to be really honest. Photoshopping is not the devil. It’s not all horrible. I’ve had days where I show up to the cover of a magazine and I’m in a more hormonal moment of the month and I may have a big red dot [on my forehead]. When I had comments last week about a cover that I felt uncomfortable with, the response was like, ‘You don’t need anything’ and I was like, ‘Honey, I need something sometimes.’ And a wrinkle in the dress, you want to smooth that out — that’s great.”

Fair enough. Frankly, the only issue I have with Photoshop is how far some publications go with it, to the point where it literally looks like a joke. The fact that young girls idolize those images and believe they’re what these women actually look like is ridiculous. Also, how often do dudes get Photoshopped? I’m sure it happens, but not NEARLY to the degree women do. But whatevs, it’s always going to be used and there’s not much we can do about it.