MANILA, Philippines – On International Women's Day, Riverdale stars Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart called out Cosmopolitan Philippines on social media for photoshopping images of them that were posted on the magazine’s official Instagram account.
“[Lili] and I feel disrespected and disturbed by the sight of our photoshopped bodies in [Cosmopolitan Philippines],” Mendes wrote on Instagram stories. Mendes is on the magazine’s March 2018 cover, while Reinhart is featured in the issue's pages. The images were originally published in the February issue of Cosmopolitan US.
“We want their readers to know that those bodies are not ours; they have been distorted from their natural beauty…I’m not interested in having a slimmer waist, I’m more than satisfied with the one that I already have,” she said.
Meanwhile, Reinhart posted photos of the original images, alongside screengrabs of images that were posted on the Cosmopolitan Philippines' Instagram. The images are the same, though the ones posted by the magazine show the actresses with smaller waists.
The images have since been taken down from the magazine’s account.
“Camila and I have worked incredibly hard to feel confident and comfortable in the bodies that we have,” Reinhart wrote. “It’s an every day battle, sometimes. And to see our bodies become so distorted in an editing process is a perfect example of the obstacles we have yet to overcome.”
“We are f***ing powerful, beautiful and strong… we aren’t going to hide behind photoshop to conform to beauty standards,” she added. “That’s why I’m calling out [Cosmopolitan Philippines]. It’s sad that you felt our bodies needed to be slimmed down. But Camila and I are f***ing beautiful. As Is. And you can’t ‘fix’ us.”
Both Reinhart and Mendes noted that the images in the February issue of Cosmopolitan US, kept their natural waists.
Reinhart also encouraged other celebrities to stop photoshopping their bodies. “It’s only encouraging an unrealistic body image. It’s adding to the problem,” she said.
Rappler has reached out to Cosmopolitan Philippines for comment. – Rappler.com
