Beyoncé's Unretouched Photos Have Leaked

The Beyhive is buzzing today! Unretouched photos from a L’Oreal campaign were just leaked, sending Beyoncé’s loyal fans into a tizzy. Released by BeyonceWorld.com, one of the “Flawless” singer’s fan sites, the images, from 2013, show a dramatic difference between the before and after shots

The campaign’s final result.

Of course Knowles is wearing a lot of makeup — it is a shoot for a cosmetics brand after all. Her skin isn’t as dewy and fresh as pictures usually make her out to be, but the most surprising thing might be that there’s still surprise about the digital manipulation that exists within the industry. The practice is so prevalent that the way the masses consume pop culture images are completely skewed; eyes are trained to see celebrities as perfect specimens.

The reaction to the images was so strong that it prompted the website to remove them. “Due to the disdain of the BeyHive, we have removed the photos. We don’t want to cause any drama, nor do we wish to start fan wars. Some of the things we have seen posted were just horrible, and we don’t want any part of it,” according to a post. “We were just posting the photos to share the fact that our queen is naturally beautiful, at the same time she is just a regular woman.

The intention behind revealing the photos seems genuine, but there’s still a problem with society’s obsession with expecting perfection but becoming disappointed when the age lines and acne hiding underneath are disclosed. The truth is, Queen Bey’s image is carefully crafted by media professionals and she keeps her personal life closely guarded. We only see her at her very best — even her #IWokeUpLikeThis Instagram posts are filtered (because whose isn’t?). No one should be mad that these photos have leaked and dispelled the illusion — Beyoncé included.