An Le, who shot cover for Grazia magazine, apologises for ‘unbelievably damaging and hurtful act’ after actor complains.
The photographer who altered the hair of the Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o on the cover of Grazia magazine has apologised for an “incredibly monumental mistake”.
An Le said he recognised that the smoothing and erasing of parts of Nyong’o’s hair was an “unbelievably damaging and hurtful act”.
Nyong’o, who starred in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and 12 Years A Slave, last week accused Grazia of altering her hair to “fit a more Eurocentric notion of what beautiful hair looks like”. She posted images on social media of the cover of the magazine and the original photo.
Grazia apologised “unreservedly” to Nyong’o, but said it did not alter the photo itself.
Le has now confirmed in a statement that he edited the image and that the change “was not born out of any hate, but instead out of my own ignorance and insensitivity to the constant slighting of women of colour throughout the different media platforms”.
“I’ve had some time to reflect on my part in the incident involving Grazia and Ms Nyong’o,” he added. “I realise now what an incredibly monumental mistake I have made and I would like to take this time to apologise to Ms Nyong’o and everyone else that I did offend.
“Though it was not my intention to hurt anyone, I can see now that altering the image of her hair was an unbelievably damaging and hurtful act. As an immigrant myself, it is my duty to be an advocate for the representation of diversity of beauty in this industry. I will demonstrate this in my work even more going forward.”
For more read the full of article at The Guardian.
