Gigi Hadid Receives Backlash for ‘Vogue’ Italia Cover

Gigi Hadid is on her umpteenth Vogue cover and the latest edition of the European glossy has people worked into a lather.

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The source of the controversy: The cover, which was shot by Steven Klein, shows Gigi heavily bronzed — so bronzed that it looks as if her skin tone has been altered. Fans and followers responded by commenting on Gigi’s Instagram of the cover shot, with Perez Hilton remarking, “too much bronzer” and others suggesting the shoot hedges on blackface.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiSfs6LAN8E/

A story for #HighVoltage-Power Women ! ?⚡️ Excited, honored, and grateful to cover @VogueItalia’s May Issue ⚡️? by my loves @stevenkleinstudio, @patti_wilson & @gb65 – thank you so so much for an amazing shoot, I am forever inspired by you all !!! & can’t wait to share the full story !! x ⚡️?

A post shared by Gigi Hadid (@gigihadid) on May 2, 2018 at 1:46pm PDT

Many fans also called out the overuse of photoshop claiming that it looked like the editors had warped some of her limbs and features. While some are defending the shoot, pointing to her Palestinian heritage as a reference point, the majority of the comments skew toward the critical, indicating Gigi was so over-edited she no longer looks like their favorite supermodel. “Girl, what did they do to your face?” commented one of Hadid’s followers.

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This isn’t the first time that Gigi has been at the center of a photo shoot accused of cultural misappropriation. Back in December 2015, a similar situation occurred when Gigi’s cover featured her not only with darkened skin, but wearing an Afro-style wig as well.

While Hadid didn’t art-dircect the picture she at least seemed pleased with the results. In her caption to her post featuring the cover, Gigi wrote, “Excited and honored, and grateful to cover @VogueItalia’s May issue” and thanked the creative team behind the “amazing” shoot. Whether she chooses to address the controversy as the buzz grows, time will tell.

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