PR Disaster (re: SELF Magazine)

veronabrit

please tell me someone else saw their editor "defend" their excessive photoshopping of Kelly Clarkson's body on their recent cover. It was beyond pathetic, and I have no idea how their PR department let this happen. They should have listened to their readers, admitted their mistake and moved on.

kdcwedding

I didn't see it, but I did hear earlier this week that they basically said something along the lines of the cover is not supposed to be realistic, it is supposed to portray the best a woman can be?! So...the best I can be is something I'm not and have to accomplish with photo editing? I haven't heard either, but has Kelly Clarkson said anything about this whole thing?

[Deleted User]

link?

veronabrit

well the today show wasnt justifying it- the Self editor was. I work in PR, and all i saw across the screen was big red words flashing "disaster disaster, abort, abort!"

[Deleted User]

i saw the cover and kelly's comments about it - basically she said it was stupid to make her look like that on the cover, and she's happy with the way she is (i think). but i didn't see the editor trying to defend it.  what did he/she say?

buttaflai

At least the headings were fitting.[img]<a href="http://mtblog.self.com/magazine/blogs/lucysblog/Sept09.SELF.cover.72dpi-thumb-251x360.jpg" rel='nofollow'>http://mtblog.self.com/magazine/blogs/lucysblog/Sept09.SELF.cover.72dpi-thumb-251x360.jpg</a>[/img]

born_for_this

http://tinyurl.com/ph478w

crfische

Sorry Brit, by THEY I meant the editors. Yeah, they said they wanted her to "look her best" or something like that. Puke. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32393894/ns/entertainment-celebrities/

Moneypenny424

well the today show wasnt justifying it- the Self editor was. This is what Fishy meant.  "They" was "Self," not the Today show.Anyway, I'd like to hear more about what they said too!  How extensive was the photoshopping?

salt78

Wow...I hadn't heard about this, but that looks nothing like her. It looks like they just chopped her head onto a new body. It's amazing the time and effort that goes into stuff like that. I worked for a clothing/shoe company in Santa Barbara and had to photoshop the hell out of the models we shot for catalogs all the time.

veronabrit

Kelly Clarkson is overweight. There is no other way to say it. She lookes good and is happy with her body, but she is overweight. IF SELF chooses to use an overweight woman on their cover, then they need to let her be who she is instead of shaving 40 lbs off of her frame.

Nebb

She is no where near 40lbs overweight. She has put on some paunch in her stomach and arms, but she isnt fat.

kdcwedding

There is a big difference between smoothing wrinkles in a shirt or editing out a flyaway piece of hair, and what they did to that image. The fact that the headline about the Kelly Clarkson story was about being loved for being yourself just makes it so much worse. I agree Verona - if you chose to feature someone who may be overweight, don't portray them as not. Plenty of women would appreciate seeing someone who exercises, but still does not look like the "typical" cover model. There would have been nothing wrong with that cover.

buttaflai

This is what they said on their site:[url]<a href="http://www.self.com/magazine/blogs/lucysblog/2009/08/pictures-that-please-us.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.self.com/magazine/blogs/lucysblog/2009/08/pictures-that-please-us.html</a>[/url]

Moneypenny424

What I wouldn't give to see the unretouched photo! I like that best self=skinny.  Guess when I was anorexic I was my bestest self possible!

[Deleted User]

Girls it's easy to obtain the perfect body, just change your picture! Wow, I wish I had the photoshopping while I'm walking around all day. Everyone could see my best.

veronabrit

Nebb- I am not sure what her BMI is, but to me she looks about 30lbs overweight, maybe 40 was pushing it. have you seen her most recent photos? it is not only in ther stomach where she's gained, she also ained a significant amount in her arms and legs.

AmoroAgain

I'm not really shocked they did this.  What they don't seem to get is, no matter what her weight, Kelly Clarkson sells albums.  Not because of her looks, not because of her size, but because she is a good vocalist, and we know she's not all fake and digitized like other singers out there.  She's real.  There's nothing wrong with that, and they should seriously stop trying to make it wrong.

wadingmoose

I think it's hilarious that one of the cover stories is about body confidence.  And they photoshopped a chubby cover model to the point where she doesn't even look like herself.Because, that's how to get body confidence.

veronabrit

amen moose, amen.

SwedishChick2011

Another Photoshop FAIL is the Got Milk? ad with Dara Torres.  It looks like they put a man's torso on her!  I know she's fit and that swimmers have broad shoulders and all, but come on.

kdcwedding

Eww.

veronabrit

coco- at least she is an athlete

AlexiaANDRobert

What they don't seem to get is, no matter what her weight, Kelly Clarkson sells albums. Not because of her looks, not because of her size, but because she is a good vocalist, and we know she's not all fake and digitized like other singers out there. She's real. There's nothing wrong with that, and they should seriously stop trying to make it wrong.Well said!

salt78

Coco - That picture makes baby Jesus sad.

NuggetBrain

coco- at least she is an athlete What does that have to do with it?

salt78

Yeah I would love to see the explanation for that also.

punkyb2b

huh. I realize that 99.9% of every photo I see in magazines is photoshopped.  Anyone see the kardashian one where she wasnt? I get Self magazine. when it came, I thought that Kelly was really thin compared to what the everyday photos show.  But Mags run a few months behind so I didnt think it was impossible for her to have been thinner and photoshopped on top of that.  But geez, what they did is ridiculous.Anyone see the pic in this month's Glamour where the girl has a fuupah?  in an article about body image?  I was impressed it was printed.

wadingmoose

weird, I saw the Dana Torres ad in a magazine and it didn't look remotely that photoshopped.  It didn't look 'shopped at all.

fangsiting

I love the response on Jezebel.  One of the editors compared this situation to when she comes back from vacation & only frames or shows people the pictures of her & her family smiling and looking nice.  Jezebel responds by stating that that's a reason for not putting a photo of Kelly Clarkson on the cover with her eyes closed, not photoshopping her to death. 

bombtones

Yikes... I like in the video how she snapped at Emme for calling it Shape instead of Self.