The stars of Pretty Little Liars have never stood for being overly photoshopped. Ashley Benson has even previously put the show's promotional photos on blast, saying no one looks the way they did in the campaign.
"Saw this floating around — hope it's not the poster," Benson wrote on Instagram in December 2013. "Our faces in this were from 4 years ago — and we all look ridiculous. Way too much photo shop. We all have flaws. No one looks like this. It's not attractive."
In their recent GQ spread, the ladies are seen frolicking in bathing suits and hanging out with hunky models, and they seem to be having a pretty great time. Being that the spread is for a men's fashion magazine, it should be expected that the ladies were going to get tweaks in the editing stage. But, perhaps it is this expectation that is the problem in the first place. Either way, some fans were not pleased.
Troian Bellisario took to her Instagram account to address the controversy and posted a few behind-the-scenes photos of herself and the other PLL girls to show the world what their bodies really look like.
"So by now you have seen many a shot from #GQ and many people have said that we were photoshopped… OF COURSE WE WERE! that's a very specific type of photo shoot. And looking very blown out and perfected was obviously what they were looking for. Great. Cool. As long as we acknowledge how it was achieved so we know it's not real," she wrote.
She went on to say that she and the other PLL girls had a blast during the photo shoot, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the word is obsessed with perfection.
"This industry seems to invest more in perfection than in flaw. But flaw and individuality, to me, are what make a human being interesting, they make our stories worth telling. (Unfortunately the flaws don't usually sell products or magazines) I'm proud of my body and the way it looks because @themarkwildman kicks my butt in aerial," Bellisario wrote, referring to her trainer. "But my hips and thighs are a part of me (even though they magically weren't in some shots!) I get those things from my momma. And I'm happy To shake what my momma gave me."
What do you think of the controversy? Should magazines tone down the photoshopped photos, or are we all just making a big deal out of nothing?
