Sorry if this has been posted elswhere.

I saw it on bosh.com and thought it was stupid. And then saw it again on radaronline.com.

http://www.radaronline.co.../index.php


Anyway these two sites are suggesting Vanity Fair made Beyonce look lighter in order to be non-offensive to its readers, which aren't used to black faces on the cover.

She doesn't look lighter to me. Beyonce is pretty light, she's just always tanning.

To 'prove' their point. Radar used her last DC album cover (which is not even her natural color) and some tanned Glamour photo.


You'll have to click on the link for pics, but here's the story:
A White Wash at Vanity Fair?

Beyoncé Knowles, who appears on the cover of this month’s Vanity Fair, is the first African-American woman to front the glossy since Tina Turner flashed her gams in 1993. But is she too black for Graydon Carter? Publishing insiders have been whispering about the cover girl’s strangely pale visage ever since the November issue hit newsstands. Now, a high-level source at Vanity Fair is alleging that the mag digitally altered Beyoncé’s image to appear several shades lighter.

African-American entertainers have long complained about being ignored by mainstream magazines, which often avoid covers featuring black celebrities for fear that they will underperform on newsstands. Vanity Fair, which has drawn some of the sharpest criticism, has not featured a solo black person on its cover since the late nineties, when it showcased Michael Jordan, Will Smith, and a clown-faced Chris Rock.

A pronounced dip in newsstand sales earlier this year has Carter feeling especially skittish. Convinced that a series of gloomy covers has contributed to the slump, says our source, the wing-haired editor ordered his art department to lighten up its act. Unfortunately, staffers got so carried away they ended up lightening Beyoncé as well. “Everything on the cover is bright, including the white background, to make it seem as white as can be,” says the source, who claims that the pop diva’s medium-dark complexion was airbrushed to a “Jennifer Lopez shade of bronze” to fit in with the magazine’s cheery new aesthetic.

But the brightening of Beyoncé caused other problems: According to our source, the singer’s cover photo clashed with inside photos, which pictured her with longtime boyfriend Jay-Z. “All the photos of Beyoncé had been made so white that Jay-Z literally looked like [Sudanese supermodel] Alek Wek standing next to her, so then he had to be lightened up, too,” says the source.

Not suprisingly, VF is outraged by the claim that it manipulated Beyoncé’s image. Asked about the charge, the magazine’s spokeswoman, Beth Kseniak, insisted that the singer’s portraits were “absolutely not” manipulated and said that any change in her skin tone was a result of lighting and makeup. Furthermore, she claimed that inside shots of the couple were pick-up photos acquired at the last minute that ran unaltered. A spokeswoman for Beyoncé did not return repeated calls or e-mails for comment.

UPDATE: Reached for comment this morning, Yvette Noel-Schure, Beyoncé’s personal publicist who set up the photo shoot, said that while she had no knowledge of procedures at Vanity Fair and could not speak for the magazine, she didn’t think VF had lightened her client’s skin tone. “There are very fair-skinned black people in this world, and Beyoncé is one of them,” she said.

She looks no lighter than normal.

I don't see it... just passed by that cover in the store this evening & thought nothing of it. I think they're trying to make something out of nothing. Again, muthafuckas crying wolf, making legitimate racist claims seem redundant & silly

CalhounSq said:

But they have no problem with Beyonce's Farrah Fawcett hair

Beyonce's fairly light to start with.

And it's true that makeup and lighting can change the way a person looks drastically.


muthafuckas crying wolf, making legitimate racist claims seem redundant & silly You're right, Calhoun. It's because of things like this that accusations of being overly politically correct get thrown around when a warranted complaint about racism is made.

RipHer2Shreds said:

true.

I accuse Tina Knowles of white-washing Beyonce.

It's amazing how few magazines carry black women on their covers.

I'd hold on to the lightening argument for the day they carry India.Arie on their cover, the punks.

ThreadBare said:

That's why I love Blute Note covers from the60s










[Edited 10/15/05 8:56am]

ThreadBare said:

won't happen...



she looks the same....
[Edited 10/15/05 8:56am]

Rhondab said:

What's up, girlie?

CinisterCee said:

Oh no, not THAT brown paper bag test bullshit again!!!
[Edited 10/15/05 11:54am]

ThreadBare said:

was Grace Jones ever on the cover?

CinisterCee said:

Ditto.

SynthiaRose said:

Like it's possible 4 beyonce 2 b any whiter...

ThreadBare said:

nothin' much...I will orgnote you soon!


I Org luv you!
[Edited 10/15/05 11:08am]

yeah,i saw beyonce w/o any makeup on and shes pretty pale...
but on the other hand i bet if Beyonce was the same complexion as India Ari or Lauryn Hill she would most definately not be on the cover.

PleasurePrinciple said:

more like if she was as un-famous as India Ari (or as un-famous as Lauryn Hill has made herself), she wouldn't be on the cover. she's a superstar. she gets magazine covers other people don't. i don't see JoJo gracing the cover of Vanity Fair either.

This is just BS. Lighting and make-up make all the difference. there isn't a big discrepency in her complexion.

Tessa said:

ThreadBare was really talking about India's look..not India herself per se

Most mags use many dark skinned models on the cover.....or black models period...

Why....ppl don't buy mags with black women on them. this is why the first cover by sports illustrated with black model she was with someone..then they got bold and put tyra alone. All the black models have talked about how hard it is to get a cover, Iman, Naomi, Tyra....when mag does do it, they just know they will take a loss in sales. So its also the publics fault as well.

Its just a know fact.

Rhondab said:

To put it bluntly, a lot of people suck.

Tessa said:

u dont get what im saying...If Beyonce was just as famous as she is now but had the complexion as India or Lauryn~im not talking about how famous some1 is.

PleasurePrinciple said:

How many Beyonce-level famous women have India's or Lauryn's complexions -- and by that I mean would have enough fame to be on VF's alabaster-reserved cover?

Let's start of with...

1) Oprah

Next?

ThreadBare said:

...Lauryn was kinda there if she would have shaken her booty a bit she may have gotten there.

POOK said:

Kim does!She did that 2 herself!

Man, how lame is that claim?

PleasurePrinciple said:

That's Lil Kim?

meow85 said:

well,whoever but yes on her birth certificate shes Lil' Kim... well, u get me...yes its her