Elle USA singles out Mindy Kaling

Posted by theo on Jan 7, 2014 in News | 0 comments

The American edition of Elle has released its four-cover February 2014 issue, but with it, also came controversy. Celebrating the small screen stars of the moment, the magazine’s fourth annual “Women in TV” issue features Allison Williams, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Zooey Deschanel.

One of the covers, however, is noticeably different from the other three. While the slimmer celebrities are displayed in in full color, in the usual three-quarter length cover shots, Kaling, who is the only dark-skinned star, and a self-proclaimed size 8, got a mere close-up shot, which is also the only one in black and white.

This isn’t the first time an Elle cover has stirred controversy. Gabourey Sidibe also got a close-up shot in her Elle cover back in 2010, which further received accusations of lightening the actress’ skin, and although Melissa McCarthy got the near full-body cover shot, her plump figure was concealed in an unflatteringly oversized coat for its November 2013 issue.