'Riverdale' Stars Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes Slam Cosmo Philippines for Photoshopped Photos
Staying true to their empowered women characters in "Riverdale," Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes took to social media in the past week to slam Cosmopolitan Philippines for altering their images.
The pair posed for a double Cosmo cover in February, which went out just fine in the United States and other countries. The same could not be said in the magazine's Philippine branch, however, which digitally altered the photos to show the actresses sporting much smaller waists.
The duo took to social media just in time for International Women's Day to air their disappointment. "It's sad that you felt our bodies needed to be slimmed down. But Camila and I are beautiful. As is. And you can't 'fix' us," Reinhart wrote in one of her Instagram Stories.
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For comparison, the 21-year-old posted the images before and after they were digitally altered, showing how drastically smaller their waists became. The actress continued to say that they refuse to adhere to beauty standards, especially by means of Photoshop.
"Camila and I have worked incredibly hard to feel confident and comfortable in the bodies that we have. It's an everyday battle, sometimes," explained the Betty Cooper star. "And to see our bodies become so distorted in an editing process is a perfect example of the obstacles we have yet to overcome."
Her sentiments were seconded by her Veronica Lodge co-star, who previously admitted to have struggled with an eating disorder.
In her own Instagram Stories, the 23-year-old actress said they were "disturbed" by the sight of their edited bodies. "We want readers to know that those bodies are not ours; they have been distorted from their natural beauty," she wrote.
Mendes added that they are very satisfied with their bodies and are "not interested in having a slimmer waist." Mendes is an advocate of Project Heal, a foundation that assists people with eating disorders so that they can get the necessary treatment.
Cosmopolitan Philippines has yet to comment on the issue, but has since deleted the photos from their Instagram account.
