It has taken Instagram by storm. But in a dramatic turnaround, Lena Dunham has had to call up her calling up of Spanish magazine Tentaciones (for allegedly photoshopping an image of her to look slimmer), to reveal that all they had actually done was crop the snap.
Lena posted the original picture to the social media site and highlighted the way in which the *El Pais *magazine had chopped the image to fit. She captioned her post with a lengthy explanation as to what had happened, nonetheless maintaining her belief the image had – at some point – been tampered with: 'I'm pretty sure that will never be my thigh width but I honestly can't tell what's been slimmed and what hasn't,' she said.
'It's a weird feeling to see a photo and not know if it's your body anymore,' she also admitted. 'I'm not blaming anybody (y'know, except society at large).'
She went on to defend Democratic presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton for getting 'bashed as much for having a normal woman's body as she is for her policies.' It was a powerful response, all things considered.
Comments below Lena's post were mixed. A number showed support for the Girls star, whilst others claimed she was 'attention seeking' and should 'think twice' before speaking out.
What do we think?
As we thought yesterday, go Lena. We can't imagine what it would be like not to know if a snap of ourselves had been tampered with or not – but what we do know is we wouldn't stand for it either. So what she was wrong in this instance? It takes courage to highlight a mistake. And whilst yes, she hasn't exactly apologised (and perhaps, yes, she ought to) she has nonetheless praised the magazine and given it more attention than it would ever have received otherwise.
Arguably, a win-win situation for both sides.
Yesterday we wrote...
Lena Dunham has hit back at Spanish magazine Tentaciones for photoshopping an image of her on their front cover.
The original shot was taken by Colombian-born photographer Ruven Afanador for Entertainment Weekly back in 2012, where Dunham was styled to look like British model Twiggy.
The El Pais magazine did not include an interview with the star, but had bought the rights to publish the image and edited it so Lena's face, arms and legs appeared slimmer.
Taking to Instagram to convey her dismay, Lena wrote:
Oh hello El Pais! I am genuinely honored to be on your cover and so happy you licensed a pic by @ruvenafanador, who always makes me feel gorgeous. BUT this is NOT what my body has ever looked like or will ever look like- the magazine has done more than the average photoshop. So if you're into what I do, why not be honest with your readers? Much love, Lena.
Lena received 39.3k likes (so far...) for her pic and a number of support messages in comments underneath.
Earlier in the day, she had posted a snap to Instagram, possibly to preface what was coming next. It was a selfie which she simply captioned:
'As I grow older I become more comfortable with who I am'.
So, what can we say about the furore?
Well, what else than: well done Lena Dunham?! For standing up for herself, for her natural body and by extension, all women who aren't – and don't aspire to be – super skinny. We salute you.