The 'Girls' star contends, 'This is not what my body has ever looked like.'
Lena Dunham wants her body to be presented honestly in the media.
The Girls star had strong words for El Pais, after the Spanish-language publication published what the 30-year-old actress alleged was a heavily-Photoshopped image of her for the cover of its supplement, Tentaciones.
"Oh hello El Pais! I am genuinely honored to be on your cover and so happy you licensed a pic by @ruvenafanador, who always makes me feel gorgeous," Dunham wrote on Instagram on Monday. "BUT this is NOT what my body has ever looked like or will ever look like- the magazine has done more than the average photoshop. So if you're into what I do, why not be honest with your readers? Much love, Lena."
However, the magazine released a statement (translated via CNN), denying they had made any alterations to the photo beyond cropping, writing, "Those who know us and follow our magazine know that we do not use Photoshop or other digital tools to change the appearance of people who are on our cover or inside the magazine."
After the statement and uncropped image was shared, Dunham again took to Instagram to clarify her statements, and relay a larger message about how women are depicted in popular culture.
"Hey Tentaciones- thank you for sending the uncropped image (note to the confused: not unretouched, uncropped!) and for being so good natured about my request for accuracy," she wrote. "I understand that a whole bunch of people approved this photo before it got to you- and why wouldn't they? I look great."
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"But it's a weird feeling to see a photo and not know if it's your own body anymore (and I'm pretty sure that will never be my thigh width but I honestly can't tell what's been slimmed and what hasn't)," she continued. "I'm not blaming anyone (y'know, except society at large.) I have a long and complicated history with retouching. I wanna live in this wild world and play the game and get my work seen, and I also want to be honest about who I am and what I stand for."
"Maybe it's turning 30," Dunham added, before referring to presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. "Maybe it's seeing my candidate of choice get bashed as much for having a normal woman's body as she is for her policies. Maybe it's getting sick and realizing ALL that matters is that this body work, not that it be milky white and slim. But I want something different now."
"Thanks for helping me figure that out and sorry to make you the problem, you cool Spanish magazine you," Dunham concluded. "Time to get to the bottom of this in a bigger way. Time to walk the talk. With endless love, Lena PS I'd love the Tentaciones subscription I was offered!"
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Meanwhile, Dunham recently joined a growing group of people coming to Kesha's defense amid her ongoing legal troubles.
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