The internet rallied in support of Cindy Crawford earlier this year when a supposedly unretouched photo of her from a photoshoot was leaked. At the time the super did not pass comment, but six months on, she's spoken out to brand the journalist who leaked of the photo "malicious".
Cindy has talks about the incident in ELLE Canada's latest issue, and while the photo recieved an uplifting response from majority of those who saw and shared it, Cindy felt it violated her freedom of choice. It also transpires that the photo wasn't a genuine likeness to Cindy, and that in fact, rather than being unretouched it had been tampered with.
"I felt that [the journalist who exposed the picture] was inauthentic because she acted like this was great but she didn't check if I wanted this out or if it was a real picture," she explained.
"Why would seeing a bad picture of me make other people feel good? I felt blindsided. I was very conflicted, to be honest," she added. "I know my body, and I know it's not perfect, but maybe I have a false body image; maybe I think I look better than I do… [Most women] think we look worse than we do. So I assumed I fell into that category, even though that picture didn't reflect what I saw when I looked in the mirror—even in the worst dressing-room lighting."
Cindy explained to the mag that she sought out the photo's photographer after the leak and that "He was very upset because he didn't put it out there. He said, 'Cindy, I'm going to send you the real one and it's nothing like that. It's clear that someone manipulated that image to make whatever was there worse,'"
She continued: "It was stolen and it was malicious, but there was so much positive reaction [to the image]… Somehow seeing a picture of me was like seeing a chink in the armor,"
She explained further that her decision to remain silent for so long was due to a conflict between the fact that the photo was disingenuous but had still provoked positivity among her fans. "I don't try to present myself as perfect. It put me in a tough spot: I couldn't come out against it because I'm rejecting all these people who felt good about it, but I also didn't embrace it because it wasn't real—and even if it were real, I wouldn't have wanted it out there," she told the mag. "I felt really manipulated and conflicted, so I kept my mouth shut."
Earlier we wrote...
A photograph that claims to be an unretouched shot of one of the original supers, Cindy Crawford, went viral this weekend.
The snap, which showed the now 48-year-old in lingerie, was praised by many for showing off her natural beauty.
Twitter user @Lind82 said "She looks amazing, why can't magazines just show women as they are? #CindyCrawfordPhotoLeak"
While another user, @Tracey_lou said "bravo to Cindy Crawford for releasing her untouched photos. Brave and beautiful #women #advertising" [sic]
The picture was wrongly thought to have been for a shoot in the April 2015 issue of the magazine, however they released a statement saying "It is real, it is honest, and it is gorgeous...While the claim accompanying the photo above is that it will be printed in an upcoming issue of US Marie Claire, its origins are actually from a December 2013 cover story from Marie Claire Latin America. It appears that this unretouched version is a leak.
They went on to say, "No matter where the photo came from, it’s an enlightenment—we’ve always known Crawford was beautiful, but seeing her like this only makes us love her more."
Cindy herself is yet to comment on the picture. However recently told Marie Claire this about body confidence: "I really think—at any age—it's learning to be comfortable in your own skin.
"If women would treat themselves with the same kind of love they give to their friends, that would be such a great gift we could give ourselves. ...What makes you the most attractive is self-confidence. That's what people see."
Here, here.