Melissa McCarthy received a new glossy face and a slimmer figure in a U.K. poster for her upcoming flick, The Heat. From Prince Williamâs computer-enhanced head of hair to Kate Winsletâs unnaturally thin body, see more examples of extreme celebrity Photoshopping.
The Heat, the latest female-centric comedy from Bridesmaids mastermind Paul Feig, hits U.S. theatres on June 28. But in the U.K., one version of a poster for the film, which stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, features a more alternative version of McCarthy than audiences might recognize. Given a slimmer neck and face, a different eye color, and glossy, airbrushed features, the poster makes the actress appear significantly altered. But this isnât the first time the actressâs image was tweaked: In 2011, the poster for Bridesmaids, featured the former Gilmore Girls actress noticably slimmer.
Either Kate Middleton has ditched her beloved High Street fashionâor her royal headâs been Photoshopped onto somebody elseâs body. Ever since her wedding to Prince William, the young royal has been branded a fashion icon, but she has yet to grant any fashion magazine a photo shootâso whatâs a magazine editor to do? Marie Claire South Africa decided, for its August issue, to leave the matter in its readersâ hands. A Photoshopped fan art tribute to the Duchess of Cambridge made the cover of the issue with the headline âKate Middleton: Fashionâs New Royal Icon Wears SAâs Best Local Designsââand an asterisked disclaimer: âOf course she doesnât. But she should.â Weâre not sure which is more alarming: Kateâs displaced head or the headlines that surround her (âMy Husband Makes Millions From His Infidelity Websiteâ; âReal Life: God Called Me on YouTubeâ).
Unlike his wife, Prince Williamâs not afraid to pose for magazine cameras. On the cover of a March 2010 issue of Hello! magazine, he flashed a wry smile in jeans and a polo shirtâbut it was his oddly dark full head of hair that got the most attention. Though the prince is only 30, his hairline has famously been following in his father Prince Charlesâs (receding) footsteps for years. But since a balding head isnât exactly ideal for a magazine cover model, the photo editors of Hello! took matters into their own hands and spruced up Williamâs hair with some Photoshop magic. Itâs a good look for the princeâwe just take issue with the cover storyâs headline: âThe Real William.â
Britain banned two LâOrĂ©al ads featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington for being so airbrushed they could mislead customers. From BeyoncĂ©âs lighter skin to Kim Kardashianâs airbrushed abs, see photos of other extreme retouching.
MORE FROM NEWSWEEKâInteractive: See How the Retouchers did it
Talk about extreme: A British advertising regulatory group was reportedly so outraged over the retouching in two L'OrĂ©al cosmetics ads that they were subsequently banned. The group said the ads, which feature Julia Roberts for Lancome and Christy Turlington for Maybelline, were misleading because the photos had been so altered. Lancome defended the retouching, saying Robertsâ image was an âaspirational pictureâ and the digital enhancement was not âdirectly relevantâ to what the product means to achieve. Maybelline, meanwhile, insisted the ad was accurate about what its foundation could achieve. British politician Jo Swinson called for the ban, saying it would âsend a powerful message to advertisersâletâs get back to reality.â
In January 2003, 27-year-old actress Kate Winslet was livid over a slimmed-down image of her already-long legs and board-flat stomach on the cover of British GQ. Winslet called the retouching âexcessiveâânoting that âI do not look like that, and more importantly, I donât desire to look like that.â Not that that mattered to GQ. Said editor Dylan Jones: âWe do that for everyone, whether they are a size six or a size 12.â
The former Sports Illustrated model was so outraged at an EstĂ©e Lauder ad that she says Photoshopped her image to make her look older that she sued the company for $2 million. The ad was for Plantscription, an "anti-aging serum" for women over 45âbut Forsling is a mere 35. Sheâs claiming that the enhancementâor, in her view, degradationâhas irreparably damaged her career. She says she never used the product and it's deceptive advertising.
Right: FilmMagic / Getty Images
No, Katie Couric didnât discover a miracle diet. But over a four-month period in 2006, as the anchor prepared to take over the CBS Evening News, it suddenly appeared as if the 53-year-old had shrunk to a third of her body weight. The photo at left, snapped in May, was widely circulated to the media as an official CBS publicity shot. Then, in September, a slimmed-down Couric, her face and waistline radically trimmed, appeared in CBSâs in-house magazine, Watch! When the media picked up on the alteration, the network said the retouching job had been the work of an âoverzealousâ employee. Couric, meanwhile, said she liked the original better. âThereâs more of me to love,â she joked.
âSo what: I have a little cellulite. What curvy girl doesnât!?â That was Kim Kardashianâs response to an unretouched image of her that was mistakenly posted on Complex magazineâs website in May 2009. The snapshotâwhich was quickly replaced by the Photoshopped versionâshowed that her waist had been cinched, her thighs slimmed, and her cellulite removed.
Skin bleaching has long been a controversial topic, so when BeyoncĂ© appeared several shades lighter than usual in a LâOrĂ©al ad in 2008, it sparked an uproar. There have been many shades of BeyoncĂ© in photographs and ad campaigns, as evidenced by (from left) a 2008 LâOrĂ©ad, a 2007 cover shot from Joy magazine, and a 2009 image on the cover of Russian Glamour.
This magazine ad for Ralph Lauren, which spurred protests outside Laurenâs Manhattan headquarters in 2009, features 23-year-old model Filippa Hamilton looking positively nonhuman. At 5 feet 8 and 120 pounds, Hamilton (pictured on the runway at right) later said that the brandâwhich ultimately apologized for the imageâhad quietly fired her for being overweight.
Right: Randy Brooke, WireImage / Getty Images
Kelly Clarkson looks trim and adorable in this September issue of Selfâunder the headline âTotal Body Confidenceââexcept that her âconfidentâ body has been digitally slimmed down. (The image at left was taken around the same time as her magazine shoot.) Two Self editors explained that the cover was not âjournalism,â but âmeant to inspire women who want to be their best.â Some message.
Right: Scott Gries / AP Photo
Redbook couldnât have been pleased when an unretouched image of Faith Hill, featured on the magazineâs July 2007 cover, was leaked to the bloggers at Jezebel. In annotated before-and-after shots, the bloggers pinpointed 11 digital alterations the already picture-perfect Hill underwent before she hit newsstandsânext to a cover line teasing to â56 ways to unleash your sexy side.â (Do 55 of them involve airbrushing?) Redbook was accused of contributing to an unattainable body ideal, but editor Stacy Morrison said the picture was âcompletely in line with industry standards.â
jezebel.com
Men's Fitness wants to know: How do you build big arms in five easy moves? When it comes to Andy Roddick, apparently the answer has more to do with Photoshop than tennis. After posing for this shot in early 2007, the tennis superstar reportedly did a double take when he saw the magazine while walking through a Rome airportânoting that his biceps had been blown into â22-inch gunsâ and a prominent birthmark on his right arm had been removed. And while a Men's Fitness spokesman responded to the scandal by saying he didnât see âthe big issue,â Roddick joked that he was âpretty sure Iâm not as fit as the [cover] suggests.â Does Hulk Hogan want his arms back?
Right: Getty Images
Demi Moore has long seemed to elude age, while denying that plastic surgery has had anything to do with it. But when the 47-year-old mom appeared on the cover of W magazine in November 2009, her image sparked widespread discussion. The magazine was adamant that photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot did nothing âunusual or out of the ordinary on Demi Moore,â but many commentators noted that the huge chunk missing from her hip implies otherwise.
MORE FROM NEWSWEEKâInteractive: See How the Retouchers did it
