Shape On Jenny McCarthy: "We Can't Change The Shape Of Anyone's Body"

By Dodai Stewart | April 15, 2009 | 8:00pm

Mere hours after we posted Jenny McCarthy’s comments about her Shape cover (she called it “a crap load of airbrushing)”, we got an email from the PR Director of the magazine:

Hi Dodai-

In response to your post on the Jenny McCarthy’s[sic] Shape cover…

Here is a statement from Jenny McCarthy, as well as one from the folks at Shape.
Can you please include these statements?

Thank[sic] in advance,

[Name redacted]

Here are the statements they wanted us to run (emphasis ours, naturally):

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“I didn’t mean to imply that the magazine had done anything to alter the shape of my body on the cover image. I worked hard on that body! I was really just joking about the airbrushing make-up that was used to cover up freckles and stretch marks and to highlight the contours of my muscles. Other than that, it’s all me, thanks to yoga, a healthy diet and an amazing photographer that lit me to perfection.” — Jenny McCarthy

Yeah, sure. You were joking. About the makeup. And the shot is “all you” thanks to an “amazing photographer.”

Here’s the statement from the magazine:

“We chose Jenny for our cover-as we do all our cover models-because she is in phenomenal shape-and works hard for the body she has. Ask her to put a bikini on and you’ll see the same body you see on our cover. We cannot change the shape of anyone’s body or create flat abs where there are none. This body is all Jenny-and instead of being self-deprecating, she should give herself the credit for all her hard work.”- SHAPE

Hmm. Well, Redbook changed the shape of Faith Hill‘s body; Campari changed the shape of Jessica Alba‘s body in its campaign; one of our editors changed the shape of her body and another editor’s body without a full-time glossy magazine art department staff. So when you say you “cannot” change the shape of Jenny’s body, what do you mean? As for creating flat abs when there are none, no one disputes that Jenny has a flat midsection; she did, however say that your magazine added “shadowing to make these muscle things happen.” And there are plenty of two-minute videos on YouTube which demonstrate how to create “abs” using Photoshop.

In any case, Shape says, “Ask her to put a bikini on and you’ll see the same body you see on our cover.” But actually, we’ve seen pictures of Jenny in the exact same bikini she wore on the cover of Shape. Does she look amazing? Yes. Is it the “same body”? You be the judge:

Meanwhile, we’ll just lament the fact that we have to scrutinize poor Jenny so closely.

Earlier: Jenny McCarthy’s Shape Cover: “A Crap Load Of Airbrushing”