When Lupita Nyong’o first dominated the award circuit (and every best-dressed list) in 2013, the media went nuts for her striking features, brilliant skin, and closely shaved head. The actor soon proved that she wasn’t one to stick to a conventional beauty formula — rocking up to the 2016 Met Gala with a towering sculpted updo inspired by Nina Simone, and calling out Vogue for deciding the inspiration was Audrey Hepburn. Lupita was just as quick to check Grazia UK today for whitewashing her hair. As she demonstrated on Instagram, the magazine digitally smoothed out their new cover star’s hair and removed her entire ponytail.
“As I have made clear so often in the past with every fiber of my being, I embrace my natural heritage and despite having grown up thinking light skin and straight, silky hair were the standards of beauty, I now know that my dark skin and kinky, coily hair are beautiful too,” Lupita wrote. “Being featured on the cover of a magazine fulfills me as it is an opportunity to show other dark, kinky-haired people, and particularly our children, that they are beautiful just the way they are.”
Lupita made it clear that she was not consulted about the airbrushing, writing that she “cannot support or condone the omission of what is my native heritage with the intention that they appreciate that there is still a very long way to go to combat the unconscious prejudice against black women’s complexion, hair style and texture.” She also used the hashtag #dtmh — the same tag Solange used just last month when calling out a magazine for editing off a spectacular braided hairstyle. The acronym refers to Solange’s empowering A Seat at the Table song “Don’t Touch My Hair,” which sends a pretty clear message about black beauty.
Grazia UK has now issued an apology to Lupita, saying it “did not make any request to the photographer for Lupita Nyong’o’s hair to be altered. You can read in full below.