MANILA – Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes, stars of the hit TV series “Riverdale,” called out Cosmopolitan Philippines on Friday for photoshopping their bodies in the magazine’s latest issue.
Reinhart, who plays the role of Betty Cooper in the TV adaptation of the “Archie” comics, mentioned in a series of posts on Instagram Stories how their photos from Cosmopolitan US were altered by the magazine’s Philippine counterpart to make them look thinner.
Photos from Instagram.com/lilireinhart
Photos from Instagram.com/lilireinhart
“Today is International Women’s Day. Over the last year, we’ve seen an unprecedented movement for women’s rights, and one thing is clear: our time is now. We are phenomenal, and we will make the world a better place for all women. But we still have a long way to go. Our fight is not over,” she said.
“Camila and I have worked incredibly hard to feel confident and comfortable in the bodies that we have. It’s an everyday battle sometimes. And to see our bodies become so distorted in an editing process is a perfect example of the obstacles we have yet to overcome,” she added.
“So we cannot stop fighting. Our battle has only begun.”
Reinhart stressed that she and Mendes “aren’t going to hide behind Photoshop to conform to beauty standards.”
“That’s why I’m calling out Cosmopolitan Philippines. It’s sad that you felt our bodies needed to be slimmed down,” she said, adding that the magazine “can’t fix us.”
The actress went on to encourage her fellow celebrities and public figures to stop editing their physical features in their photos.
“It’s only encouraging an unrealistic body image. It’s adding to the problem,” she pointed out.
Mendes, for her part, said she and Reinhart “feel disrespected and disturbed by the sight of our photoshopped bodies.”
“We want their readers to know that those bodies are not ours; they have been distorted from their natural beauty. We prefer to see our bodies the way they actually are. I’m not interested in having a slimmer waist, I’m more than satisfied with the one that I already have,” said the actress, who plays the role of Veronica Lodge in “Riverdale.”
ABS-CBN News has reached out to Cosmopolitan Philippines, but the magazine has yet to release a statement about the issue.