Oscar-winning actor Lupita
Nyong'o has hit back at a UK magazine for allegedly lightening her skin and editing her hairstyle on their cover.
Lupita posted on Twitter a copy of Grazia's cover together with two photos from the shoot.
On the magazine cover, Lupita's ponytail is cropped out and her skin appears lighter.
"Disappointed that @GraziaUK edited out and smoothed my hair to fit a more Eurocentric notion of what beautiful hair looks like," Lupita said via Twitter on Friday.
Lupita went on to say on Instagram that she is satisfied with her black beauty, adding that embracing
natural heritage is her priority.
"I embrace my natural heritage and despite having grown up thinking light skin and straight, silky hair were the standards of beauty, I now know that my dark skin and kinky, coily hair are beautiful too," she said.
She said being featured on the cover of a magazine fulfills her but was disappointed that the magazine
would edit the pictures.
"This is an opportunity to show other dark, kinky-haired people, and particularly our children, that they are beautiful just the way they are," she said.
Lupita said if she was consulted before
the editing was done, she would have explained herself.
"I cannot support or condone the omission of what is my native heritage with the intention that they appreciate that there is still a very long way to go to combat the unconscious prejudice against black women's complexion, hair style and texture," she said.
Last year, Lupita said she was teased and called awful names such as 'black mamba' before making it to Hollywood.
Lupita said her complexion made it harder for boyfriends to attend social gatherings with her.
"I got stood up at my prom. He did not show up. I was always confident but I shed tears," she said.
Read:
The actor won an Oscar award for her role in the movie '12 Years a Slave'.