Cindy Crawford has set the record straight on a supposedly unretouched modelling image of her that circulated online earlier this year, claiming that the photo was doctored to change her appearance.
It was an ITV news reporter who first brought the bikini shot of the 49-year-old to the world’s attention, and it went viral as women everywhere found themselves relating to one of the world's most famous supermodels.
However, when Cindy opened up to ELLE magazine for its September issue, her version of events was completely different.
Recalling how she got in touch with the shoot’s photographer at the time, Cindy explained to the magazine: “He was very upset because he didn’t put it out there. He said, ‘Cindy, I’m going to send you the real one and it’s nothing like that. It’s clear that someone manipulated the image to make whatever was there worse.’”
“It was stolen and it was malicious, but there was so much positive reaction…Somehow seeing a picture of me was like seeing a chink in the armour,” she added.
Cindy, who is married to Rande Gerber, admitted that she remained silent on the topic because she felt torn between the truth and the uplifting response that the fake photo prompted.
“I don’t try to present myself as perfect. It put me in a tough spot: I couldn’t come out against it because I’m rejecting all these people who felt good about it, but I also didn’t embrace it because it wasn’t real – and even if it were real, I wouldn’t have wanted it out there. I felt really manipulated and conflicted, so I kept my mouth shut,” she said.
Cindy is mum to 16-year-old son Presley and 14-year-old daughter Kaia.
