'Pretty Little Liars' Star Defends Photoshopped Bikini Pics: 'I'm Not Mad'
By Shaunna Murphy
When the title of your TV show references how attractive you are, it's pretty safe to assume you'd make one hell of a GQ spread. So render us completely not surprised that Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, and Shay Mitchell -- the gorgeous stars of ABC Family's mega-hit "Pretty Little Liars" -- look flawless in the mag's June 2014 issue.
A little too flawless, perhaps. Wearing nothing but sexy, high-waisted bikinis and stiletto heels, all four ladies look like they're having a blast as they tease a male model and attack each other with squirt guns.
However, things got slightly less fun when the buzz shifted from the photos themselves to the obvious (and arguably excessive) use of Photoshop. Bellisario, who has spoken publicly about her struggles with an eating disorder in the past, took to Instagram on Wednesday (May 21) to address the issue head-on.
So by now you have seen many a shot from #GQ and many people have said that we were photoshopped... OF COURSE WE WERE! that's a very specific type of photo shoot. And looking very blown out and perfected was obviously what they were looking for. Great. Cool. As long as we acknowledge how it was achieved so we know it's not real. Here's some behind the scenes of my body the way it is and was on the day. I'm not mad at how these pictures turned out, the girls and I had an absolute blast. More fun than we've had on a photoshoot in a while, and I think you can see that in our eyes and smiles. But it's the same everywhere. It's the same way on the posters of our show and even in women's magazines. This industry seems to invest more in perfection than in flaw. But flaw and individuality, to me, are what make a human being interesting, they make our stories worth telling. (Unfortunately the flaws don't usually sell products or magazines) I'm proud of my body and the way it looks because @themarkwildman kicks my butt in aerial. But my hips and thighs are a part of me (even though they magically weren't in some shots!) I get those things from my momma. And I'm happy To shake what my momma gave me.
Mic drop. Bellisario then posted another photo of the girls together, saying that -- Photoshopped or not -- she still has the most gorgeous costars on the planet. We tend to agree.