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Zendaya Coleman: Magazine pulls issue after criticism of pictures Photoshopped to make actress look thinner

Actress reacted after finding 'my 19-year-old hips and torso quite manipulated’

Heather Saul
Wednesday 21 October 2015 18:43 BST
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'Shake It Up' star Zendaya Coleman
'Shake It Up' star Zendaya Coleman (Getty Images)

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A magazine has pulled images of Zendaya Coleman edited to make her appear thinner than she is after she criticised the pictures for promoting “unrealistic” standards of beauty.

The 19-year-old took part in a photoshoot in Puerto Vallarta for Modeliste Magazine earlier this month. Coleman, a former Disney actress, said she was sent edited pictures from the shoot on Tuesday, only to find that her hips and torso had been manipulated to look slimmer.

She wrote: “Had a new shoot come out today and was shocked when I found my 19 year old hips and torso quite manipulated. 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. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic (right side) and I love it. Thank you @modelistemagazine for pulling down the images and fixing this retouch issue.”

Modeliste Editor-in-Chief, Amy McCabe said the magazine had pulled the issue and was working to publish the unedited images.

Ms McCabe said in a statement: “Upon review of the final edited images which had been submitted to us by an independent editing company, together as a collaborative between myself, Zendaya and her parents, we concluded that the images had been retouched to an extent that was not acceptable and not true to the values and ideals we represent and promote in our publication.

“I, therefore, made the executive decision to immediately pull the issue in order to have this rectified and have the images restored to their original, natural state which will reflect the true beauty and radiance of Zendaya. We look forward to sharing these shortly upon the issue's re-release."

Modeliste did not respond directly to Coleman's claims when contacted by The Independent. Instead, a spokesperson from the magazine referred requests for comment to the magazine’s social media channels.

In February, Coleman was praised for her reaction to a comment made by the Fashion Police presenter Giuliana Rancic, who said her dreadlocks looked like they smelled of “weed and patchouli oil”.

Coleman dismissed the “outrageously offensive” remark with an eloquent response that ultimately led to Rancic apologising publicly.

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