CAMERA TRICKS?
All of a sudden, Kerry Washington is in the middle of a different scandal.
USA Today reports on the fan furor that has erupted in the wake of the Scandal star's alleged Caucasian makeover on the cover of InStyle magazine.
Washington herself posted the sneak peek of her appearance on the March issue of InStyle to her Instagram account.
In the cover photograph, the 38-year-old African-American star clearly looks to be much lighter in skin tone, or at least she's much lighter than she appears to be on Scandal or in films like Django: Unchained.
This being the golden age of social media, the photo immediately had people levelling charges of photo-shopping or worse against InStyle.
The Twitter account for the media watchdog group known as Miss Representation (@RepresentPledge) was one of the first to speak out on the cover by tweeting, "Kerry Washington is Unrecognizable on InStyle's New Cover. (hint: skin lightening)."
Twitter user Ashley Weatherford (@sincerelyash) tweeted the InStyle cover along with the comment, "I love Kerry Washington. Who is this chick?"
Briana B. (@1913DeucesRWild) tweeted, "Listen InStyle, your photo editors should be thinking very seriously about what message does that send to little brown-skinned girls."
And then there was this tweet from young Twitter user named Nicole (@BrittYouCrazy): "Kerry, why did InStyle make your skin sooooo…how do I say this…not brown."
In response to the negative feedback, InStyle magazine posted a statement on their website saying, "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."
The InStyle release closes by stating, "We are committed to ensuring that this experience has a positive influence on the ways in which we present all women going forward."
Shortly after the release went out to media, Washington (@kerrywashington) tweeted, "Beautiful statement. Thank u 4 opening this convo. Its an important 1 that needs to be had."
None of which makes the controversy go away, but even Olivia Pope would be proud at how Washington has defused the situation.
GAME GIRL
Get ready for Katy Perry: The Mobile Game. One week after her standout appearance on last weekend's Super Bowl halftime show, the Firework singer will lend her voice and likeness to a new free-for-download video game. The game will be created by Glu Mobile, who previously devised the hugely successful mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, and will feature Perry's "voice, likeness and personality and introduce players to a digital playground of global success and talent." Perry's gaming contract with Glu Mobile is scheduled to run the next five years.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
HE'S BACK
Ryan Gosling has finally gone back on Twitter. The Canadian-born actor posted his first tweet in nearly two years on Wednesday. His message to the world: "Long time no Tweet…Let's see if this thing still works. Check out the trailer for our film Lost River!" Lost River marks the directorial debut for the 34-year-old Gosling, who is currently shooting the film The Nice Guys opposite Russell Crowe in Los Angeles.
Source: Buzzfeed
FAMILY BATTLED
Two members of Bobbi Kristina Brown's family took part in a physical altercation at an Atlanta hotel on early Friday morning. Atlanta police reported that Bobby Brown's sister Tina Brown hit Shayne Brown – Bobby Brown's cousin - in the head with a bottle during the incident at the West Midtown Atlanta Hotel. Bobby Brown is the ex-husband of the late Whitney Houston and father of Bobbi Kristina, 21, who remains in grave condition at Emory University Hospital after being discovered face down in a bathtub at her Atlanta residence last weekend.
Source: 11alivenews.com