This is Kerry Washington on the cover of the March issue of InStyle. I merely glanced at the cover and began to read some of the quotes, wondering if any of it would be good enough to cover. But then I saw that people on social media were freaking out about the cover. Specifically, Kerry’s skin on the cover. There was an immediate backlash about the “whitewashing” of Kerry, not just lightening her skin, but airbrushing some of her features to make her look less like herself. I had to look again… and while I do think they lightened her skin, I don’t think they airbrushed her features into oblivion, like some magazines do to other women (regardless of race). But yeah, the different in skin tone is notable. It was so bad that InStyle had to release a statement within the same news cycle or else Kerry-loonies were going to picket their offices. Here’s the statement:

We are super fans of Kerry Washington here at InStyle. To feature her on the cover of our March spring fashion issue is both an honor and a delight. We have heard from those who have spoken out about our newsstand cover photograph, concerned that Kerry’s skin tone was lightened.

While we did not digitally lighten Kerry’s skin tone, our cover lighting has likely contributed to this concern. We understand that this has resulted in disappointment and hurt. We are listening, and the feedback has been valuable. We are committed to ensuring that this experience has a positive influence on the ways in which we present all women going forward.

[From InStyle]

Kerry tweeted a link to the statement and wrote: “Beautiful statement. Thank u 4 opening this convo. Its an important 1 that needs to be had.” Yeah, it’s bad. I feel sorry for actresses who get slammed with criticism for editorial decisions that are not even their call, you know? And hey, at least InStyle didn’t use the same people who did Bobby Jindal’s portrait.

As for the actual interview… well, none of it was as interesting as the conversation about the cover. Kerry says she loves bold colors and prints and bigger fashion risks and Olivia Pope is more about a neutral palette. She talks about how she got back into shape after giving birth, which included “pilates, Tracy Anderson pregnancy DVDs, hiking, the elliptical machine and yoga.” That sounds like a lot of stuff. She also discusses her feelings about mommy guilt – you can read more here.

Photos courtesy of InStyle, WENN.