Riverdale's Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes Slam Cosmopolitan Philippines for Photoshopping Their Bodies

After the magazine edited the stars' waists to make them look slimmer, the actresses called out the publication on Instagram

By Elyse Dupre Mar 09, 2018 5:13 PMTags
E! Placeholder Image

Lili Reinhart called out Cosmopolitan Philippines on Instagram Thursday for photoshopping both her and Camila Mendes' bodies to make them look slimmer. 

The Riverdale star also posted the before-and-after photos to highlight the difference in appearance via Instagram stories.

The 21-year-old actress started her post by celebrating International Women's Day.

"Over the last year, we've seen an unprecedented movement for women's rights," she wrote, "and one thing is clear: Our time is now. We are phenomenal, and we will make the world a better place for all women."

However, the Betty Cooper star admitted "we still have a long way to go" and that "our fight is not over." That's when she shared the edited and unedited photos from her and Mendes' photoshoot and highlighted the change in appearance of their waists.

"Camila and I have worked incredibly hard to feel confident and comfortable in the bodies that we have. It's an everyday battle, sometimes," she wrote. "And to see our bodies become so distorted in an editing process is a perfect example of the obstacles we have yet to overcome."

Reinhart said she and her Veronica Lodge co-star wouldn't "hide behind Photoshop to conform to beauty standards." 

"It's sad that you felt our bodies needed to be slimmed down," she wrote. "But Cami and I are f--king beautiful. As is. And you can't ‘fix' us."

She also sent her female followers some words of inspiration.

"So, like every other day, women….go kick some ass," she wrote. "You are being heard. You are strong and sensational."

Near the end of her post, she applauded Cosmopolitan U.S. for "keeping our waists as they are in their magazines." She also asked other celebrities to help put an end to the promotion of "unrealistic body image" through Photoshop.

"Also would like to encourage celebrities and public figures to stop photoshopping their waists/noses/arms/legs in their photos," she wrote. "It's only encouraging an unrealistic body image. It's adding to the problem."

Mendes also fired back at the magazine in a note posted on her Instagram Stories.

"Happy International Women's Day!" she wrote. "@Lilireihart and I feel disrespected and disturbed by the sight of our photoshopped bodies in @cosmopolitan_philippines. We want their readers to know that those bodies are not ours; they have been distorted from their natural beauty. We prefer to see our bodies the way they actually are. I'm not interested in having a slimmer waists. I'm more than satisfied with the one that I already have. Much love and self respect, Camila and Lili."

Promoting positive body images is near and dear to Mendes' heart. The 23-year-old actress works with Project Heal—an organization that helps people with eating disorders obtain treatment. She's also opened up about her experiences with eating disorders in the past. 

"I can say from experience that eating disorders are serious mental illnesses," she wrote in a note shared to Instagram. "Growing up, I watched my big sister suffer from one for many years, and I've experienced periods of my life when I've suffered symptoms as well."

In February, she penned a note to her followers announcing she was done with dieting. The star talked about how she had visited a naturopathic practioner to address her "anxiety around food" and "obsession with dieting." That's when her practitioner asked her what else she could be thinking about if she didn't focus on dieting. The star remembered all of the activities and passions she used to love.

"I'm done believing in the idea that there's a thinner, happier version of me on the other side of all the tireless effort," she wrote at one point in the post. "Your body type is subject to genetics, and while eating nutrient-dense foods and exercising regularly will make you healthier, it will not necessarily make you thinner, and the current system fails to make that distinction."

E! News has reached out to Cosmopolitan Philippines for comment.