Vogue Brazil Photoshops Actors to Look Disabled
Vogue Brazil is making headlines and causing quite the controversy with their newest campaign for the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
The ad features a woman who is missing an arm and a man who is missing a leg with the title #SomosTodosParalimpicos (#we are all Paralympians). However, neither the man or woman is actually missing a body part. Instead, Vogue Brazil photoshopped the models’ bodies to look like disabled athletes for their campaign. Specifically, the pair was supposed to look like table tennis player Bruna Alexandrea and volleyball player Renato Leite. The models in the shoot are actors Léo Pires and Paulo Vilhena, which both happen to be ambassadors for the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB).
The reception of the campaign was far from positive – and many took to their social media accounts to address Vogue Brazil directly. People are outraged that the magazine would opt to edit the bodies of actors, when there are plenty of disabled athletes, models, and people that could have been featured in the campaign instead. While many are unhappy with the campaign and view it as a missed chance to promote the disabled community and breakdown societal stigmas, Paralympians Bruna Alexandrea and Renato Leite have a different perspective and are embracing the campaign.
According, to Style Mic, Vogue is distancing itself from Vogue Brazil. In a statement to Buzzfeed Brazil, a spokesperson for Vogue stated:
“This is not a Vogue magazine campaign. It was conceived by the actors Cleo Pires, Paulo Vilhena (game ambassadors) and the Agency Africa. Vogue along with Editions Globo Condé Nast, only supports the initiative as well as supports any initiative that encourages attendance at games.
Vogue respects the opinions of readers who disagreed with the campaign format, but reiterates its commitment to promote the importance of Paralympics. We will continue to support all of the Paralympic committee initiatives that encourage attendance at games.”
