15 Unbelievable Photoshop Scandals

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Obama

Year: 2010

We all know President Obama is a sensitive guy—he's not afraid to shed a tear or two on camera. But, following the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, The Economist doctored out a couple consulates for this cover, making him look downright emo. It heightened the drama of the shot in a way that was just false.

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Mariah Carey

Year: 2009

Does Mariah Carey have a hand in everything? Or does she simply just have huge hands? Actually, the answer to both questions is "no," even if this image suggests otherwise—just look at the size of her left hand.

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Beyoncé Knowles

Year: 2011

Beyoncé is one of the most powerful women in the world. And some of that power derives from her commanding, toned thighs. So when Harper's Bazaar got in between there with the clone tool, to give her that oft-mythologized thigh gap, it's an affront to women's bodies and the wonder that is Beyoncé.

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JCPenny

Year: 2008

The greatest selling point of JCPenny women's wear is how slender you look, even as you unhinge your jaw to devour the face of one of your friends.

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Bret Michaels

Year: 2010

If you think 50-year-old Poison front man Bret Michaels has abs that actually look like this, There's a game show you should go on. It's called Rock Of Love, and it's on VH1, and we think it's about how hard Bret Michael's abs are and how you will love them.

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Prince William

Year: 2010

People driving boats aren't important at all. Boats sell more newspapers when they appear to pilot themselves. Everyone knows that. That's why The Sun removed this dinghy captain from this weird boat that Prince William was in not too long ago. Who needs a boat pilot? You know what? Fuck it! Get rid of the motor too.

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Melissa McCarthy

Year: 2013

One of Hollywood's fastest-rising comedic stars, McCarthy has made a big name for herself, which is why it's disappointing to see her head shrunk down to pea-size, as it was on the poster for her latest flick with Sandra Bullock. She's too smart a lady to be diminished at all.

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Time Magazine

Year: 2011

When you work at a weekly magazine, it can be pretty stressful getting the whole thing laid out correctly in time for publication. Just take a look at this wonky Time Magazine cover with a misplaced drop shadow on this voting booth. The intentions were good, but the result was anything but.

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Tina Fey

Year: 2010

Photoshopping out the trademark scar that's on the chin of Tina Fey is like buffing all the green stuff from the Statue of Liberty; we know it may not be totally natural, but we still like the familiarity of the established version. Don't buff Tina Fey, Vogue Magazine—she's fine scarred or spotless, but we prefer the former.

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Microsoft

Year: 2009

What happened here? This was a perfectly marketable image, diversity-wise: white woman directing the meeting, jovial black and Asian men idling by. And yet the team at Microsoft decided this black dude in the top photo wasn't smiling enough? To be fair, this is a perfectly serviceable Photoshop job. It just happens to also be a perfectly serviceable racist erasure.

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Maxim Mexico

Year: 2011

Did Maxim Mexico seriously think this was OK? Besides just being executed poorly, this doesn’t even look natural, let alone attractive, humanly possible, or within in the limits of reason. What was the endgame here? What is the message an edit like this sends?  I think it’s something like: women, be spineless, backless, whatever, just be less. 

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Sarah Jessica Parker

Year: 2013

Harper's Bazaar China did such a number on Sarah Jessica Parker in March of this year she became almost unrecognizable. They gave the already-skinny actress such a severe digital facelift she ended up looking like an Asian man. Maybe it was part of the Chinese publication's strategy to identify with readers?

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Curves

Year: 2010

Why are advertising and design agencies always so concerned with race? In the case of Curves Honey Crunch cereal, there was clearly a decision to try and appeal to a broader market. They did this, not by making their product universally tastier, but by affixing the head of a black woman to the body of a white woman. Ethnic diversity at its best!

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Madonna

Year: 2006

What is up with the tiny head of Madonna on the cover of Out Magazine? She looks like a squashed anime character—her eye is too big, her forehead is too small, and she has no shoulders. The 2006 cover star for the magazine is now my favorite Pokemon, mostly because I still don't "get" her. This Photoshop makes her the Piakchu of pop.

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Artelac

Year: 2010

We think Artelac is like an eye-drop company or something. So why their design team would lob the hand off the model in their ad is beyond us. Is this a weird reference to diabetes? Does Artelac deal with insulin through eye-drops instead of injections? Does the Artelac eye-drops company cause diabetes? We're not saying that they do; we're just saying this person doesn't have a hand now.

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