Kerry Washington Vents About Photoshopped Adweek Cover: ‘I Was Taken Aback’

After a recent shoot with “Adweek” for its April 4 issue, actress Kerry Washington is taken aback by the beautiful stranger on the magazine’s front cover.

Washington, 39, shares in an Instagram post to her fans that she’s not a stranger to Photoshop, but the face illustrated on the magazine’s cover is not hers. In fact, she says it is unrecognizable. In today’s world, where filters and crops are common when posting everyday pictures, Washington acknowledges to fans in her IG posts that society has become “picture adjusters” and has in some ways lost its authenticity.

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

Over the years, stars have begun speaking out about excessive airbrushing and false portrayals of themselves. Actress Lena Dunham  confronted a Spanish newspaper last week for giving her photo a “more than average” Photoshop treatment, according to a CNN article. Also, actress/singer Zendaya had a dispute with Modeliste magazine after they drastically Photoshopped her body in a recent spread. “These are the things that make women self conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have. Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self love,” Zendaya said in an IG post after the incident.  

According to US Weekly, this isn’t the first time Washington has called out a magazine for over-Photoshopping her. She previously noted when both InStyle (March 2015) and Lucky (December 2013/January 2014) lightened her skin tone for their cover shots.

Adweek‘s editorial director, Jim Cooper, tweeted that there was indeed a tweak to the image, albeit a very small one.

“Happy @kerrywashington was proud of her Adweek profile, sad cover misses for her,” he tweeted. “Added volume to hair for dramatic effect. No disrespect.”

Though Washington is unfamiliar with the woman on the cover, she added in her IG post that she’s proud of the article and thanked those who have been “kind and supportive” about the feature.