She Spoke Out Against Photoshopped 'GQ' Spread

2014 is clearly the year of celebrities calling magazines out on their Photoshop BS. This time, Lucy Hale has addressed the recent controversy surrounding a Photoshopped GQ spread of the Pretty Little Liars cast. And her response is predictably admirable.

The GQ situation has caused quite the media uproar since the images were revealed online. Hayley Hoover of The Gloss spearheaded the concern with this eloquent analysis:

While I understand that GQ‘s target demographic is probably, you know, not high school girls, it still makes me sad to see some of the smartest female characters on TV getting reduced to shiny, poreless Barbies. I’m not trying to say that talented, intelligent women can’t also want to look sexy in a magazine (and if someone offered to Photoshop me into a swimsuit model, I probably wouldn’t complain), but it’s so shitty that the magazine version of “hot” always means “barely human.” They’re all gorgeous. They’re all sexy. Why do they have to be slimmed down, slicked up, open-mouthed, and fatless?

In an interview with E!, Lucy Hale was asked to give her input on the Ellen von Unwerth-shot photospread. Here's what she said:

[Photoshop] is pretty common. I think it’s good that people know that that is normal. People meet me in person, they know what I look like. As long as people know that that’s not real — I think those pictures were just an image that they were going for. It’s GQ. We don’t look that pin-uppy.

Stars speaking out against overly edited photos is a common phenomenon these days (and thank goodness for that) and the Pretty Little Liars are often at the forefront with their intelligent comments regarding the false reality that these photo spreads in magazines seek to create. Here are a few other times the ladies of PLL have discussed body image and digital enhancements.

Troian Bellisario opens up about eating disorder

Earlier this year, 28-year-old Bellisario opened up to Seventeen about her struggles with self-harm and eating disorders before Pretty Little Liars even began, saying:

I started self-harming when I was a junior. I would withhold food or withhold going out with my friends, based on how well I did that day in school… I didn’t know what was right and what was wrong, so I think I created this bizarre system of checks and balances to create order in my world. But it really backfired.

Bellisario also posted a powerful response to the GQ backlash on Instagram that managed to both acknowledge the use of Photoshop and promote body positivity. Amazing.

Lucy Hale on bikini photos

In the cover story of Shape's October 2013 issue, Hale talked about her discomfort with being photographed in her bikini, proving that even gorgeous celebrities have insecurities.

I was on the beach in Hawaii and there were paparazzi in the bushes. I don’t think anybody wants to be photographed in their bikini unless you’re a Victoria’s Secret model. There’s always a little voice in my head that says, Suck it in a little more — but you know, I’m so comfortable with who I am, I’m just like, screw it! Take pictures!

Ashley Benson speaks out against PLL poster

Ashley Benson criticized an overly-Photoshopped Pretty Little Liars promotional poster in which the casts' fake glow positively screams "We've been airbrushed!" Benson posted the image on Instagram along with the following message:

Remember you are ALL beautiful. Please don't ever try and look like the people you seen in magazines or posters because it's fake. It only causes an unhealthy mind about how you see yourself. Your are perfect the way you are.

The women of Pretty Little Liars are clearly amazing role models!