When Photoshop goes too far

Photoshop makes the old look younger and the skinny look skinnier. It cuts off people’s hips, arms or heads and attaches them to other body parts floating in the photography editing ether. Now, Photoshop is being accused of making skin lighter.

Actress Gabourey Sidibe, the breakout star of the heart wrenching film Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, is one of four women who got their own cover for Elle magazine’s 25th anniversary special in October. But Amanda Seyfried, Lauren Conrad and Megan Fox all received drastically different treatments than Sidibe for their covers. Although Sidibe’s cover photo is cropped close, showing nothing below her bust, all of the other ladies photos are practically identical full body shots.

The most shocking part of Elle’s cover series is Sidibe’s apparent skin lightening — one that could not be achieved by a overly hot lighting set-up. Sorry Photoshoppers, Elle isn’t convincing anyone that nothing was done to Sidibe’s photo. But at least the young actress is in good ranks — ads featuring singer Beyoncé Knowles and actress Freida Pinto have also been accused of lightening.