Lil Kim and her team refuse to take the blame for the extremely retouched look of her viral Ebony magazine cover image.
On her Instagram Stories Sept. 19, the Queen Bee expressed a feeling of betrayal regarding the coverâs result. She posted a photo of the image and asked, âWho is this?!â
The âCrush On Youâ rapper said she didnât approve of the cover ultimately chosen. She also firmly claimed that whoever botched the editing was the publicationâs retoucher.Â
âI always told Ebony it looked like a painting, but they didnât wanna listen. They said they loved it. Itâs the sabotage for me,â the iconic femcee wrote.Â
Kim reposted several comments regarding the seemingly problematic process of how the image made it to Ebonyâs cover.
One of the reposts included accusations from self-proclaimed âsocial media manager to the stars,â Raisa Sendrovich, who lists Kim as one of her clients. Raisa alleged that the exposure of the cover shootâs photos was so low that the images were unsalvageable. She backed up Kimâs claim that Ebonyâs retoucher was responsible for the poor editing.Â
âI heard you got fired after this shit. Letâs talk about that, sir,â Raisa wrote to the shootâs photographer, and Ebonyâs Director of Photography, Keith Major. âThereâs so much more to the story. I had to say something,â she added later.
Another of Kimâs reposts called out those continuously harboring on how she looked before versus how she looks now. The online user, a creative director whoâs worked with the femcee, argued that Kim doesnât care about othersâ opinions on her appearance. They also asserted that all the current chatter emphasized the rapperâs longstanding relevance â especially as âthe blueprint.â
Kim later reposted the alleged photo she and her team approved for the cover. The image looks exactly like the one chosen â possibly without an overlay filter.
 The rapperâs image has gone viral since the commemorative Ebony coverâs drop Sept. 18, celebrating 50 years of hip-hop.
Draped in a silky-looking pink garment, the former Junior M.A.F.I.A. artist posed on the cover with a crown placed on her head.Â
Regardless of the shootâs glam, what caught netizensâ attention was how the 49-year-oldâs face looked highly and poorly edited. The comments under Ebonyâs Instagram post that debuted the cover were filled with discussions on how unrecognizable Kim was â or how the imageâs editing was trash.Â
âHarpoâŠ. Who dis woman?â
âWhoever did the editing need to be fired.â
âThis GOTTA be AI cuz that look nowhere near Lil Kim.â
âLik Kim ainât even looking like lil Kim no more.â
The imageâs photographer pointed the finger when one user asked, âWho photographed this?â
Keith said, âMan, she wanted to be in control of the retouching. So this is what we got.â
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Despite the coverâs controversy and the drama between Keith and Kimâs camp, the breadth of the rapperâs influence was the focus of her Ebony interview.
âWhen I think of cultural disruption I think of innovators. I think of people who check game, and Iâve been told that about myself,â the legendary musician, fashionista and author noted.Â
Read about Kimâs forthcoming memoir below.
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