In reaction to Vogue's recent Lena Dunham cover, Jezebel decided to pull out their wallets to offer up a $10,000 reward for anyone who can supply them with the unedited versions of the actress's photos. In a post on their site, Jessica Coen writes that Dunham is "a woman who rightfully declares that her appearance, with all of its perceived imperfections, shouldn't be hidden and doesn't need any fixing." Coen acknowledges that Vogue is not the only publication that retouches photos, but says that Jezebel takes issue with the practice being applied to Dunham specifically.
In explaining why they want the photos, Coen writes, "Our desire to see these images pre-Photoshop is not about seeing what Dunham herself "really" looks like; we can see that every Sunday night or with a cursory Google search...This is about Vogue, and what Vogue decides to do with a specific woman who has very publicly stated that she's fine just the way she is, and the world needs to get on board with that. Just how resistant is Vogue to that idea? Unaltered images will tell." The $10K offer was also extended to the model herself.
Vogue has not yet responded to Jezebel's offer, but we kind of wish we had access to the photos now. $10,000 for something that is not really a secret sounds like a no-brainer. Dunham doesn't seem to be upset with the photos at all and even tweeted "Dear @voguemagazine: Thank you. Love, Lena," so this may be a waste of money.
UPDATE JAN. 17 10:39 ET: Within two hours of offering $10,000 for the untouched Vogue photos of Lena Dunham, Jezebel received the originals. Check all of them out here.
[via MediaBistro]
