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Beyoncé Looks Whiter — Has L'Oréal Gone Beyond the Pale?

Thu, 08/07/2008 - 5:00am by bellasugar
8,371 Views - 66 comments

Is it just me, or is Beyoncé looking a little . . . whiter? TMZ found this comparison of the singer in real life, compared to her appearance in an ad for L'Oréal. Seems pretty obvious to me that she's been lighted and heavily retouched — which is no shock, considering the brand's earlier Photoshopping nightmare — but I'm not loving the "lighter is prettier" message it's sending. Do you think this much of a change goes too far?

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View Photos: Beyonce Knowles
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66 Comments Add a Comment

  • Punk Glam Queen's picture
    Punk Glam Queen
    1

    I'm totally appalled that they would mar beautiful Beyonce in this way, and I too, am not liking the message it sends. If I were her, I'd really be up in arms over this. It really doesn't look like her anymore.

    22 weeks 7 hours ago Report Comment
  • Mermaid922's picture
    Mermaid922
    2

    It's really just shameful and sad. I think L'Oreal needs to come up with an apology or statement fast.

    22 weeks 7 hours ago Report Comment
  • scolls1583's picture
    scolls1583
    3

    she looks completely different! her nose is different, her bottom lip looks different....she's much prettier on the left. At first glance, I thought the picture on the right was just someone that resembles Beyonce.

    I realize they made her skin look lighter because her hair in the picture is lighter, but why not get another model if you're going to do that....she's black and beautiful, and shouldn't be changed!

    22 weeks 7 hours ago Report Comment
  • soulight's picture
    soulight
    6

    It's absolutely disgusting what L'Oreal did. I hope Beyonce's team didn't ok it. Black women already have a hard enough time trying to find women who look like them being called beautiful in the media, why take someone take Beyonce do that to her image. We have come so far as to what is considered beautiful, why take things back 50 years? I was really glad to see that Rihanna darkened her hair despite the advice of her management team. I doubt it was some big racial statement, but it was still good to see.

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • secrethoughts's picture
    secrethoughts
    7

    This is just offensive. Who is this blond white woman,and what have they done with Beyonce? I think photoshoping and airbrushing has gone waaaaay too far. I understand brushing out a zit or softening a double chin or something, but Beyonce is a beautiful woman, and I don't think she needed any changing. I don't like the message they're sending. BOYCOTT!

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • SweetnLow's picture
    SweetnLow
    8

    The first time I saw this ad yesterday, I had no idea who it was. That should say something.

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • Jennisuga's picture
    Jennisuga
    9

    I dont understand why they made her so light..there was a lot of talk about this yesterday and some at my office were saying its like rejecting your heritage. i don't think she ment it in that way but that is really a bad message i feel she is sending to her young fans.

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • puddlesworth's picture
    puddlesworth
    12

    I don't think they lightened her skin at all. Thats what black people look like under bright camera lights. You could do comparisons of any black person under different lights and it makes their skin look alot whiter.

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • JessieSP's picture
    JessieSP
    13

    If they wanted a white woman then they should have asked one. That looks awful. There is nothing wrong with the way that Beyonce usually looks. L'Oreal should be ashamed for that photoshopping and Beyonce should feel appalled.

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • hellokitty87's picture
    hellokitty87
    14

    Honestly, they are just having her advertise the wrong hair color, that color calls for a lighter skin tone too look nice, and not look so fake, so that's probably why they lightened her, not to wash her out, but the compliment the hair color they are advertising.

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • fleurfairy's picture
    fleurfairy
    15

    It looks horrible. L'oreal should be ashamed of themselves. However, I read once that her dad used to the make other girls of Destiny's Child go tanning so that Beyonce would look lighter by comparison.

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • brittanyk's picture
    brittanyk
    16

    I always thought Beyonce was fairly light to being with, but she's incredibly light in that picture. Like too light. It also looks like they made her nose skinnier. I think Beyonce is gorgeous, there's not need to photoshop her so much. I really don't get why they chose that ad anyways. The hair color and skin tone is just blah.

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • LoveSarah's picture
    LoveSarah
    17

    It looks like she is wearing a wig.
    That add is just horrible. She doesn't even look like herself!

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • annebreal's picture
    annebreal
    18

    I agree with those saying they probably did it to match her hair color, but someone with a brain in their heads should've been like "Wait up, this could be construed as incredibly offensive and reinforcing the 'white' standard of beauty".

    22 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • leanneluvsu's picture
    leanneluvsu
    20

    Maybe you ladies don't know the Knowles very well, but Beyoncé is notorious for skin-lightening, her and Rihanna both. Please, don't let them fool you with the okie-doke. This is a huge practice in the urban entertainment field. Jay-Z himself, and P. Diddy are notorious for putting biracial beautties on a pedestal.

    Why do you think Rihanna is so famous now? It was easier to market her to the pop market/whites as a biracial Caribbean sexual goddess than a talentless hack. Quite frankky, Rhi's skin tone and ethnic origins is the ONLY reason she is famous. Same story for Beyoncé.

    There are better singers out there, but they cannot infiltrate the white market or even be considered sexy to black men.

    You don't find it strange that Diddy never married Kim Porter, but has been seen philandering with every non-black woman and white woman out there. Same story for Russell Simmons and Jay-Z.

    Lil' Kim has even gone on record to say that she wanted to change her face because growing up black women were not seen as pretty, only the biracial ones.

    Even if you're not black, latino, asian or middle eastern, think critically about the messages the media is sending you and the opinions of friends and family members? How many of your male family members ever thought that someone Jennifer Hudson's color was attractive? What about Oluchi's shade?

    22 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • KathleenxCouture's picture
    KathleenxCouture
    21

    I will never understand what the big whoop is about light skin. I would much rather have beautiful naturally tan skin and I think that Beyonce's skin is absolutely gorgeous I also think that in Indian and Asian countries where light skin is praised that the darker the skin on them the more beautiful. Do they realize that White people covet naturally tanned skin and that they have something we would love to have?

    22 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • nofbody's picture
    nofbody
    22

    bey is so pretty. why would they change her!?! i don't really care for this whole debacle.

    22 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • princess_eab's picture
    princess_eab
    23

    what the hell? Beyonce is not a white girl and it's offensive that someone made her into one (with her permission?).

    22 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • superfoxml's picture
    superfoxml
    24

    That really just crawls into my skin. How awful of L'oreal to do that. Beyonce is beautiful and I love her skin. This just looks wrong on her! Not to mention a horrible message to send!

    22 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • leanneluvsu's picture
    leanneluvsu
    25

    More than likely she knew. This is very common for Beyoncé. I believe she knew what was up.

    22 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • JeannieGrrl's picture
    JeannieGrrl
    26

    I'm not a big Beyonce fan but this should be insulting to her. Why does she need to be whiter? Why did they have to erase most of her features? Whats the point of celebrity endorsement when the final photos barely even resemble the star?

    22 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • rabidmoon's picture
    rabidmoon
    27

    I personally do not like to see it, because I always thought she looked great the way she was.

    But then again I have tried my damned best my whole life to see people, not colour, not sex, not race, not ethnicity, so doing this just frustrates me.

    Whether that is her decision, or L'Oreal's hardly matters..at the end of the day being unable to accept something totally natural and absolutely FINE about yourself makes no damn sense to me, and sends a really pathetic message about how we all "need" to look.

    Since when are people so dense? Why must dark skin be seen as less beautiful?

    Does Iman go around bleaching herself? Vivica Fox? Does Alek Wek? Grace Jones? Naomi Campbell? Erika Badu? Phylicia Rashad? Toni Braxton? Something says "no". And I hope I am right.

    Beyonce' looks like someone else, not herself. But then in my opinion, if she dislikes her own skin, then she's not who I thought she was anyway. I expect "strong" women to really be strong, not just blather about it in pop songs while behind the screens they do everything they can to genericise themselves.

    Boo hiss.

    There are so many reasons I hate pop music. The culture surrounding it is one of the reasons why.

    22 weeks 4 hours ago Report Comment
  • MissMimz's picture
    MissMimz
    28

    I get really annoyed when the lighten someone's skin! The standard for beauty is not white skin; especially when you consider that white girls spend their time tanning and buying self tanner and bronzer! These black women do not need to be lighter to be beautiful! Shame on l'Oreal and every other brand that does so!
    I call boycott too!!

    22 weeks 4 hours ago Report Comment
  • Juicylemon's picture
    Juicylemon
    29

    Does L'Loreal even really care about black women? Sure they have Beyonce and Kerry Washington as spokespersons for their lipsticks but what about important products for skintones? Do they even make efforts to put foundations and powders that could match black women in the market?

    22 weeks 4 hours ago Report Comment
  • bastylefilegirl's picture
    bastylefilegirl
    30

    I don’t think they did any photo shop on her nose I think it’s the angle the photo was taken to make it look that way. I am appalled that she is looking lighter. She is already a light skinned African American women who is typically the symbol of beauty that is deemed acceptable/put out there constantly as what an African American women should look like by the media. This is sad because there are many shades of brown/black, but this isn’t surprising this has been the way since slavery, the lighter the skin the closer you where to “masters” house. I also have issue with the fact that she probably doesn’t even use that blonde Loral color on her hair, and it shows because she is wearing a wig in the shoot which makes no sense, it’s very rare ( not impossible) for an African American women to sprout light blonde hair from her head. Why couldn’t she be a model for brown, dark brown or black hair color? I’m also not placing all the blame on L’Oreal either. I wish it didn’t’ have to be this way but, as an African American woman Beyonce should take control of her image and how she is portrayed in these ads since we are so under represented or represented inaccurately in mainstream ads/media in general.

    22 weeks 4 hours ago Report Comment
  • Frank y Ava's picture
    Frank y Ava
    31

    This doesn't suprise me, since she wishes she was hispanic and all. L'Oreal messed up and so is she.

    22 weeks 3 hours ago Report Comment
  • Litte Pepper's picture
    Litte Pepper
    32

    in the ad she just looks like a tanned, dark blonde white girl. this is just not right

    22 weeks 3 hours ago Report Comment
  • Francoisehardly's picture
    Francoisehardly
    33

    This looks just as weird to me as a pale person walking around with orange skin. I can't say I'm another light skinned person who covets being tan anymore because I've grown to like the coloring I was born with, but regardless of the actual color, I think natural coloring is best and I don't see the reason to change it, whether it be L'oreal's decision, Beyonce's or both. Like people have already stated, it sends the wrong message and I don't believe in imposing narrow views of beauty.

    22 weeks 3 hours ago Report Comment
  • scoop4's picture
    scoop4
    34

    MAYBE SHE`S NOT TANNING AS MUCH PEOPLE LOVE TO HATE ON A SISTA!!!!

    22 weeks 2 hours ago Report Comment
  • ShilohFan's picture
    ShilohFan
    36

    Beyonce is a gorgeous black woman, there's absolutely no reason to try to make her "whiter" or whatever... Do they think that would make her prettier? Because it doesn't.

    22 weeks 2 hours ago Report Comment
  • Baby Girl's picture
    Baby Girl
    37

    I thought the photoshop was horrible. Who ever touched this photo up needs some help.

    22 weeks 1 hour ago Report Comment
  • retrospeckt's picture
    retrospeckt
    40

    not just her skintone but her nose is also made pointier also. i hate the fact that the media only promotes the light skinned african-american women as beautiful. i particularly find darker skinned ladies just as gorgeous and exotic.

    22 weeks 1 hour ago Report Comment
  • giraffeluv's picture
    giraffeluv
    41

    That is wrong. She has beautiful caramel skin, and they made her look like a marshmallow! They need to lay off the photoshop and let people's natural beauty show.

    22 weeks 36 min ago Report Comment
  • ponyluv's picture
    ponyluv
    42

    ironically this is a bad comparison. she's actually somewhere right inthe middle of these two images. her skin is not as dark naturally in the "real" picture. but also really not as light as the other.

    i get why people are offended but for some reason i'm not? i don't know maybe because realistically people's skin color can change so much w/ a tan and a change in make-up or lighting. either way... love B. she looks gorgeous to me tan or not.

    22 weeks 34 min ago