Beyonce allowed her skin to be darkened for the 90th anniversary issue of L’Officiel Magazine, in an African themed shoot celebrating Nigerian singer Fela Kuti:

According to the magazine, “The Fashion magazine is about to celebrate its 90th birthday. To celebrate this anniversary, the festivities start with the March issue, with Beyoncé on the cover. She agreed to pose for an incredible fashion shoot, with the theme of African Queen, paying a tribute to the legendary Fela Kuti (a political singer who died in 1997). Far from the glamorous Sasha Fierce, the beauty posed for the magazine with amazing designer clothes, and also in a dress created by her mother. A return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened. All the pictures will be available in the collectors edition, on sell at the end of this month.“

Of course some have taken issue with this. Nigerian blogger and author of Iluluonline.com said, “First let me say that I love Beyonce but as a Nigerian and someone who lived there for a bit when Fela was still alive this is not a tribute to him. I’ve spoken to my Nigerian friends both in North America and in Nigeria and showed them the photos and none of them considered it a tribute…If this were a Martin Luther King tribute would she have painted her face black? In Nigeria we have all shades of black so I’m not really sure how this is a tribute to Fela. And I don’t even see how the clothes factor into the tribute.”

“… The only thing close to anything I’ve seen my mom wear or that I wore as a kid is the headress and even then it’s not tied properly. It’s as if what the magazine considers “African” is someone with the darkest skin possible and as someone of Nigerian heritage it’s beyond offensive; It’s downright hurtful to see these stereotypes perpetuated. I don’t even blame Beyonce for this shoot because I stopped expecting much from artists years ago and besides a lot of them don’t see beyond dollar signs. Africa is a rich and diverse continent and Fela was one of its greatest ambassadors and exports and I didn’t even realize how big of an impact he had until I moved back over to North America as an adult. To listen to his music, to see his performances, and listen to elders tell stories about him still doesn’t encapsulate everything he meant to the country. He was our freedom fighter and yes he was a womanizer and a flawed man and I disliked that about him but I hate the fact that an important part of my heritage is being bastardized just to sell magazines. When the shoot comes out I’m sure we’ll all post it and oooh and ahhh over it and move on but make no mistake: this IS NOT a tribute to Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti.”

What do you think?
Sources: Beauty is Diverse & IluluOnline.com.