Jennifer Aniston recently appeared on several covers for InStyle magazine's October issue, and one of them is now being branded as an example of ''blackface''. The cover in question shows the Friends actress clad in a black DKNY bra, Lalaounis necklace and Elizabeth Locke, John Hardy and Reinstein Ross bracelets - and most notably, a darker skin tone.
It was one of fiver covers InStyle posted to Instagram on Wednesday, with the caption:
"Jennifer Aniston has been a beacon of American glamour for the past 25 years, and now she’s stretching her boundaries. In a series of five newsstand covers (just try to choose a favorite), she channels iconic beauty looks from the '60s and '70s."
In an accompanying interview with the magazine, Jen spoke about what it was like turning 50 in February, but the people of the internet were more concerned about how airbrushed and tanned she appeared in the cover.
"I get that these covers are supposed to be channeling the glamour of yesteryear but that 'glamour' routinely marginalized women of color for white women (whether made tan or otherwise) [sic]," one Instagram user commented. "Seeing Jennifer Aniston several shades darker than normal reminds me of that legacy. In 2019, if you want a brown skinned woman on your cover, put a brown-skinned woman on your cover."
"She is channeling Photoshop more than every thing else," added another.
Jennifer Aniston reveals whether or not she would take part in a Friends reunion in an appearance on The Ellen Show:But, of course, this is the internet we are dealing with here, where no two opinions are the same. Indeed, there were a number of people who defended the shot.
"People, get over it, I am puerto rican who gets dark as hell in the summer!" one user argued. "No one, thinks Im trying to be black!..Many white people struggle all summer to get that tan, lucky her, no cancer...was sprayed on!! Let it go!! you don't like it, don't buy it!"
A publicist for InStyle told NBC News: "This one shot in particular was inspired by Veruschka [a German supermodel in the 1960s]. "The other four looks were inspired by Catherine Deneuve, Lauren Hutton, Brigitte Bardot and Charlotte Rampling."
According to NBC News, InStyle would not comment as to whether the actress' skin had been intentionally darkened, either through makeup or digitally.
