It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say we live in an era that demands perfection, and it’s hard not to when getting a svelte, Gisele-esque waist is just a few clicks and a blur filter away. Photoshop has made its way from fashion campaigns and magazine covers to our Instagram feeds and family photos, but not everyone is a fan of retouching images. A number of celebrities have spoken out against these unrealistic beauty standards in favor of a more body positive message. While there’s no way to completely rid covers or campaigns of a little tuck or trim here and there, these ladies are protesting Photoshop in an effort to put a stop to such dramatic, and body-altering transformations.
Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet has been fighting against Photoshop since 2003 when GQ UK altered her body to give the actress a lean statuesque silhouette. Winslet, who is a known champion for body image positivity, was having none of it, and publicly spoke out against the publication saying that they were not given permission to change her image. “The retouching is excessive. I do not look like that and more importantly I don't desire to look like that,” she told the BBC. “I can tell you they've reduced the size of my legs by about a third. For my money it looks pretty good the way it was taken.” Later, when she signed on to be the face of Lancôme, it was under the condition that her photos remain untouched. They agreed.
Beyoncé
If anyone is leading the pack when it comes to body acceptance and confidence, it’s Beyoncé, which is why she was furious when she saw that H&M had retouched her images for their 2013 Spring/Summer campaign. Reportedly the Bootylicious singer “hit the roof” when she saw the alterations and refused to approve of the images unless they used the original un-doctored photographs of her. Queen that she is, she got her way; H&M didn’t alter her images, and the originals ran in their national campaign. Since then she’s been accused of using photo manipulation software on her personal Instagram images, but whether that’s true or not (we hope it’s just rumors) she’s very open about not letting brands or magazines alter her image.
Lady Gaga
For some reason Lady Gaga seems to attract a lot of attention when it comes to Photoshop scandals. The singer has no problem speaking up when it comes to her image, going as far as opening up about her personal struggles with body acceptance and eating disorders. Her most notable protest was her cover of Glamour magazine where she poses in a metallic dress, with soft crimped hair and minimal makeup. She called out the magazine at their own Women of Year award show, during her acceptance speech. “I felt my skin looked too perfect. I felt my hair looked too soft. I do not look like this when I wake up in the morning,” Gaga explained to the crowd. She rallied for women to “fight back against the forces that make them feel like they're not beautiful.” “It is fair to write about the change in your magazines. But what I want to see is the change on your covers... When the covers change, that's when culture changes,” she chided.
Kerry Washington
It’s one thing to slim down a thigh or a hip, but when the star doesn’t even recognize themselves, the retouching has gone too far. When Adweek got a little overzealous with the filters, Kerry Washington took to Instagram to politely call out the magazine on their alterations. “I have to be honest...I was taken aback by the cover. Look, I'm no stranger to Photoshopping. It happens a lot,” she wrote on her post. “And I don't always take these adjustments to task, but I have had the opportunity to address the impact of my altered image in the past and I think it's a valuable conversation. Yesterday, however, I just felt weary. It felt strange to look at a picture of myself that is so different from what I look like when I look in the mirror. It's an unfortunate feeling.” As she notes, she’s no stranger to Photoshop: both her In Style cover in March 2015 and Lucky’s December 2013 cover received attention for bad doctoring, but this latest cover was the only time she noted that she looked completely unlike herself.
Coco Rocha
In 2012, supermodel Coco Rocha publicly lashed out against Elle Brazil for editing her photos. With a strict code of ethics, Rocha is very careful about how much skin she’ll show and what she will and will not do in a shoot. This means no nudity, no lingerie, no bikinis, nothing too sexualized. So when the magazine edited out a portion of her dress to make her photos more revealing she was livid. “For my recent Elle Brazil cover shoot I wore a body suit under a sheer dress, but recently discovered that the body suit was Photoshopped out to give the impression that I am showing much more skin than I actually was or am comfortable with. This was specifically against my expressed verbal and written direction. I’m extremely disappointed that my wishes and contract were ignored. I strongly believe every model has a right to set rules for how she is portrayed and for me these rules were clearly circumvented.” she posted on her blog.
Zendaya
Singer Zendaya has no problem speaking out about body acceptance and feeling beautiful in her own skin, which is why she was so quick to point out a Photoshopped image of herself in Modeliste magazine. Taking to Instagram to point out the changes, the photos show that her entire body has been slimmed down and smoothed out. “Had a new shoot come out today and was shocked when I found my 19-year-old hips and torso quite manipulated. These are the things that make women self-conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have,” she wrote in her post. “Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self-love. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic (right side) and I love it.” Surprisingly the magazine agreed with her (explaining that they had sent the images to an independent editor and hasn’t realized how dramatic the changes were), took down the doctored image and replaced it with the unedited version.
Rumer Willis
Bruce Willis and Demi Moore progeny Rumer Willis is used to photographers snapping her photo, but the actress was not thrilled about her latest Vanity Fair shoot. The images, which feature her and her sisters Tallulah and Scout, shows Rumer with a smaller, slimmer chin, so she took to Instagram to ask anyone reposting the photo to take it down because she felt it didn’t represent her. “The photographer Photoshopped my face to make my jaw smaller and I find it really offensive for anyone to try and change 
Keira Knightley
With a petite frame and a svelte waistline, it seems there would be no reason to Photoshop Keira Knightley, but movie producers seem to disagree. When the actress realized her promotional image for King Arthur was doctored to enhance her chest and make her look curvier, she was shocked. To protest Photoshop she posed topless in the November 2014 issue of Interview magazine so women would know what her body really looked like. “I’ve had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it’s paparazzi photographers or for film posters,” Knightley told Time magazine. “I think women’s bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame. Our society is so photographic now, it becomes more difficult to see all of those different varieties of shape.” Knightley’s contract now state that her image cannot be altered in any way for promotional materials.
