Girls star Lena Dunham responds to Vogue Photoshop controversy

GIRLS star Lena Dunham has bit back at critics who claimed her recent Vogue cover shoot was heavily Photoshopped.

WHEN Vogue released the images from their cover shoot with Girls star Lena Dunham last week, it wasn't long before allegations of heavy-handed airbrushing were raised.

Internet commentators obsessed over the fantastical images (in one, Dunham stands in a New York street clad in extravagant feathered couture, a pigeon balancing precariously atop her head), insisting they seemed heavily Photoshopped.

Feminist blog Jezebel went as far as to offer a $US10,000 reward for the original, unretouched pictures from the shoot.

"This is about Vogue, and what Vogue decides to do with a specific woman who has very publicly stated that she's fine just the way she is, and the world needs to get on board with that," they stated.

However, the images Jezebel received and published revealed that the changes undergone were perhaps not as drastic as many had assumed - shown together, the before-and-after photos reveal few perceptible differences. The Annie Leibovitz-helmed shoot hardly qualifies for entry into the Photoshop fail hall of fame.

Lena Dunham on the cover of the February issue of Vogue. Picture: Supplied.

Now, Dunham has responded to the criticisms herself, saying she doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. As she told Slate:

"I understand that for people there is a contradiction between what I do and being on the cover of Vogue; but frankly I really don't know what the photoshopping situation is, I can't look at myself really objectively in that way. I know that I felt really like Vogue supported me and wanted to put a depiction of me on the cover. I never felt bullied into anything; I felt really happy because they dressed me and styled me in a way that really reflects who I am. And I felt that was very lucky and that all the editors understood my persona, my creativity and who I am. I haven't been keeping track of all the reactions, but I know some people have been very angry about the cover and that confuses me a little. I don't understand why, Photoshop or no, having a woman who is different than the typical Vogue cover girl, could be a bad thing," she said.

"A fashion magazine is like a beautiful fantasy. Vogue isn't the place that we go to look at realistic women, Vogue is the place that we go to look at beautiful clothes and fancy places and escapism and so I feel like if the story reflects me and I happen to be wearing a beautiful Prada dress and surrounded by beautiful men and dogs, what's the problem? If they want to see what I really look like go watch the show that I make every single week."

On Twitter, Dunham was more blunt - and fellow Hollywood feminist Diablo Cody (Juno, United States of Tara) also tweeted her own message of support.

Some shit is just too ridiculous to engage. Let's use our energy wisely, 2014.

— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) January 17, 2014

@emilynussbaum This is total mean-girl shit masquerading as feminism. I'm disgusted.

— Diablo Cody (@diablocody) January 16, 2014