Ashley Graham defended her nude Maxim cover after the magazine was accused of Photoshopping her picture to make her look thinner.
The 28-year-old became the first plus-size model to grace the cover of the magazine, baring all behind a white-buttoned shirt for Maxim's April 2016 issue. However, social media users accused the magazine of retouching her photo and slimming down the model.
"It's a shame they photoshopped her to appear slimmer," said one such user on Instagram. "They should have left her be. What's the point of featuring a plus-size model on the cover if they're just going to make her look like the generic girls you see on their magazine."
Graham, who made history by becoming the first plus-sized model to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue last month, said that she had nothing to hide and was "proud to be the first curvy woman" on the Maxim cover.
I'm beyond proud to be the first curvy woman on the cover of Maxim," Graham said. "I was not slimmed down on the cover, and Gilles Bensimon did an amazing job capturing my true figure in all of the photos."
"This is another major advancement for curvy women, especially those who work in the fashion industry who are working hard to get the recognition they deserve," Graham added. "I now encourage more publications and designers to put more diversity on their covers and runways. Let's continue to show that beautiful bodies come in different sizes and they should all be celebrated."
Graham's photographer Bensimon also took to social media to defend the picture and shut down the Photoshopping allegations. "I shoot this image of Ashley, and we don't slimmer her at all!!! Sorry because you sound so convinced," he replied to one user.
"I see a lot of the photos that go onto the screen, the raw images, and we talk about not Photoshopping this and, 'Oh, can you take that zit off of my face away?'" she said in an interview earlier this month.
"I believe in a little bit, but when you're reconstructing my body, when you're reshaping my hips and my thighs and you're taking certain cellulite away -- Hello! I talk about it! I have cellulite. It's like, don't do that, because the customer realizes and the girl who follows me realizes it's just overdone. There is a tasteful way to do it."
