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Have You Seen Beyoncé's New Controversial, Pale-Skinned Promo Photo?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 17, 2012
Modified Jan 17, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 17, 2012
Modified Jan 17, 2012
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The latest Beyoncé news isn't about Baby Blue or the Carter family's VIP stay at Lenox Hill Hospital. Today the performer is making headlines for a photo she's using to promote her latest album, which like her previous (and controversial) L'Oreal ad, makes her look very... white. Whiter than this photo of her with the lead singer of Coldplay makes her look, even.
The photo is currently running on her website, and the Daily News notes that she's getting slammed for the pale-skinned, blonde-haired promo shot. Some say it's just the bright lighting and not Photoshp at all (she has been accused of lightening her skin). Either way, critics are calling her out, saying "whitewashing" is a damaging message to send. One declared, "I think in a lot of ways she's culpable because there’s history there. She's not saying explicitly you have to lighten your skin, but it does carry that inherent message."
One documentarian, who put out Dark Girls last year, told the paper, "Beyoncé is doing what she needs to do to be accepted worldwide and keep those sponsors happy. What does something like this do for a young girl who’s so impressionable... that’s dangerous.”
Tagged
beyoncé
controversy
pale
whitewashing
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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