The internet is up in arms after someone took it upon him or herself to Photoshop megastars Beyoncé and Rihanna — to make them look white.
The altered photos have actually been circulating online for some time, with multiple images of both stars getting the whitewash treatment.
But while the internet is filled with questionable and offensive content that often goes unnoticed or ignored, infuriated Twitter users are taking the time to call out the perpetrators this time, using the opportunity as a teachable moment.
Picture-picking: Photoshopped pictures of Rihanna and Beyoncé, in which they are made to look like they have white skin, are circulating the internet
Say what? Twitter users have been sharing them, with some saying the stars look better white
Whitewashed: This altered image of Beyoncé is also earning attention on social media
Who is the ‘artist’? The origins of each of the pictures are unclear
It’s unclear where, exactly, all of the pictures originated, though two of the altered Rihanna images seem to have been created by an Armenian DeviantArt user who goes by ARMIRA92.
Then, in March of 2016, a French Twitter user named Elisa, whose handle is @queenelisar, tweeted a gallery of four Photoshopped Rihanna pictures.
‘Rihanna en blanche, elle est magnifique, je suis amoureuse,’ she wrote, which translates to, ‘Rihanna in white, she is beautiful, I’m in love.’
Oddly enough, it took until this summer for the tweet to pick up steam. Thousands of other Twitter users began replying, calling Elisa out for being racist and begging to differ with her assessment.
Then more recently, a Twitter user who went by @slavefortacos shared a similar tweet, this time with altered Beyoncé photos added into the mix — and a message that read: ‘Say what you want but Beyoncé would look prettier if she was born white.’
Naturally, quite a few people have taken offense to the photo-altering
So pale: The images show both stars with dramatically lightened skin
Twitter has since removed @slavefortacos’s account, but not before hundreds of people retweeted and replied in anger to him as well.
Replying to each of people who shared the altered pictures, angered social media users proclaimed that both Beyoncé and Rihanna look gorgeous just as they are.
‘In fact, it’s really hideous. Rihanna is beautiful and black!’ wrote one person in French.
‘Removes this racist s***,’ wrote another, while several tweeted some version of the message, ‘Delete this.’
Messages have poured in, including ‘Shame on you,’ ‘Delete your account and after delete your existence,’ ‘Are you serious? She’s gorgeous in her own skin color?’ ‘WHAT KIND OF WHITE NONSENSE IS THIS?!’ and ‘She is already amazingly beautiful. Stop whitewashing.’
Bad judgement: One French Twitter user named Elisa wrote that white Rihanna is ‘beautiful’
Offensive: A couple others have declared that both stars look prettier with white skin
Not keeping quiet: They have been roundly attacked on Twitter
Unnecessary: Many people pointed out that both stars are perfect just the way they are
Learn a lesson: Several have accused the sharers of being racist and ignorant
Will not be tolerated: Earlier this year, Rihanna blocked a Twitter user who shared a similar sentiment
The French user, Elisa, even temporarily protected her tweets, prompting one person to write: ‘Sounds like Becky with the croissant got scared.’
There have long been controversies in which celebrities of color get whitewashed on the covers of magazines. It’s happened to Kerry Washington, Halle Berry, Gabourey Sidibe, Naomi Campbell, and, of course, Beyoncé and Rihanna.
But most of the time, the incidents are examples of photo editors getting carried away — not necessarily intentionally trying to make the star in question look Caucasian.
The fact that these images so blatantly attempt to do so has inspired some to take a look at the greater issues presented by Western beauty ideals.
Commentators at BET noted that this kind of Photoshopping sends a message that no matter how accomplished a black woman is, society would still prefer her to be white
They noted that the ‘dark message’ conveys that even these ‘gorgeous, talented, successful, respected’ women are not immune to people’s projections of Western beauty “ideals”
‘It has a really dark message behind it, wrote the staff of BET. ‘These are two of the most gorgeous, talented, successful, respected, well-known women on the planet. But even they are not immune to people’s projections of Western beauty “ideals.”
‘The people altering these images send a horrific message: no matter how amazing, successful, or beautiful a Black women may be, society would prefer them to be white. This is an impossible standard and exhausting burden.’
Earlier this year, Rihanna even faced this issue head-on, when another Twitter user, @alexgracious, wrote: ‘Rihanna would look so much more beautiful if she was white.’
Within 24 hours, Rihanna blocked her.