A couple of weeks ago, Riverdale stars Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart called out a magazine for photoshopping their already slender figures into a sharper hourglass.
These talented, gorgeous actresses are now sharing what drove them to speak out and why this kind of image-altering is so harmful.
Hear what they have to say in the video below.
Riverdale"s cultural impact cannot be denied.
The CW series, with its surreal setting and Twin Peaks vibe, reaches a wide audience and draws countless viewers from coveted demographics. And it"s a show with a surprising amount of depth.
(Seriously — I have a friend who does lengthy fashion recaps of every episode, just for fun)
Two of those stars, Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart, who play Veronica and Betty (respectively), are using their platform to call out the obscene body standards that still exist in the fashion industry.
Now, both talented actresses are speaking up about how their photos were altered … and what motivated them to speak out.
Camila spoke to E! about seeing her body warped beyond recognition on the cover of Cosmopolitan Philippines.
"The minute I saw it, I screenshotted it and sent it to Lili. I"m like, "dude, have you seen this?" She was like, "No.""
That must have been shocking for both of them, especially since the phtoos of them did not receive that same treatment when they were first published (as you can see on the left).
"And I was like, "What do you think we should do?" She was like, "We should say something." And I"m like, "You"re right.""
It"s good that they coordinated with each other a little.
"So we both just set out to do everything … I didn"t even talk to my publicist, either. I just straight up …"
Though it was Camila who first called Lili"s attention to it, Camila says that it was Lili who first decided to speak up.
"Well, she said it first, so I was like, "I"m gonna say something, too, because this involves me as well.""
They didn"t spend a lot of time deliberating whether or not to post about it.
"It came so naturally for us. There almost wasn"t a second thought."
In fact, Camila questions how anyone could remain silent when they see their own bodies twisted like that on a magazine cover.
"How could you not say something about that?"
She also felt that, if she didn"t call attention to it, she might be complicit in a deception.
"I didn"t want other people to think that that was my body."
Camila explains why this really struck a nerve with her.
"That"s just a personal thing, too, because sometimes you hear about people who aren"t comfortable showing their bodies on screen. So they have somebody else be their body-double and stuff."
Body doubles aren"t just for nude scenes — they can be for non-nude shower scenes or for romantic scenes. But Camila would never go for that.
"No matter what, I would never feel comfortable with that. Even if their body"s, like, ten times skinnier or more fit, whatever, it doesn"t matter. My body is my body, and I want people to know that this face goes with this body."
That is very understandable.
Lili Reinhart spoke to E!, also, saying:
"Cami"s actually the one who showed me the photos. And I was really just kind of appalled."
It cannot be easy to see your own body twisted like that.
"I just really felt the need to speak up about it because I talk about everything else very openly."
And she explains exactly why this is personal for her.
"As women — and even men — we struggle with our bodies every day when you look in the mirror, and especially when you"re put in the spotlight."
That"s absolutely true. For women, for men, for other folks, and especially for celebrities.
"People will critique your outfits, your skin, your body, your hair, whatever. It"s a battle for me every day to accept what I am and my flaws and know that I can"t change certain parts about me, and that"s fine."
Self-acceptance is a long journey, even for the stunningly beautiful.
"I"m presenting myself to the world as I am, and so, for someone to photoshop that, it"s just insulting."
See Camila and Lili speak their minds, here:
