16 Worst Male Celebrity Photoshop Fails
Society has unrealistically high standards for celebrities. We expect them to be perfect, even when we know they're not. This includes expecting them to look perfect, at all times. Of course, no one can look perfect all the time. Instead of accepting this as fact and portraying celebrities as human beings, the media constantly shows us impossibly perfect images of celebrities. These impossibly perfect images are created using image editing software, like Photoshop.
Many celebrities have had their images Photoshopped to make them look younger and thinner. Most of the time, women are the ones whose images get Photoshopped. This contributes to unrealistic beauty standards for women, especially when the celebrities are made to look thinner than they are with perfect skin and hair.
Though Photoshopping happens most often to women, men aren't safe from having their images manipulated either. Male celebrities often have their images retouched to make them look younger and to make their muscles larger and more prominent. In the same way that Photoshopping creates unrealistic beauty standards for women, it also creates unrealistic standards for masculinity.
A little touch up here and there doesn't do much harm, but severely editing the image of a celebrity to the point where they look flawless, and barely like themselves is ridiculous and irresponsible. It creates the impression that celebrities are perfect when they're not and it contributes to the idea that looking that perfect is both possible and a goal.
Here are a few male celebrities whose images have been so Photoshopped they barely look real.
16 Jonathan Rhys Meyers- Glowing tan?
It's rare that we get an opportunity to see the original photo from a photoshoot before it gets photoshopped. When we do, it's so much easier to see the drastic changes, which are so evident when comparing this set of photos of Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Talk about filters at their best.
In the original photo, Meyers skin is pale and he's got a good amount of shine going on (somebody left their oil wipes at home!). In the retouched photo, Meyers has a healthy tan that seems to glow. His skin, which is far from perfect in the original photo, appears smooth in the retouched photo. The muscles in his arm appear more defined in the Photoshopped photo, which is really unnecessary since his muscles are already on display in the original. The editors added color to his lips and made them fuller. The bags under his eyes have been reduced.
This is a particularly interesting example of presenting an idealized image because in the original image Meyers doesn't look that great, but the retouched photo makes him look amazing. Completely unrealistic!
15 Andy Roddick- Another insane tan
This tennis superstar is in pretty good shape. He has to be to win all those matches. But he's not nearly as fit as he looked on the cover of Men's Fitness. Andy Roddick even came out and said that the cover photo was completely unrealistic. He told People Magazine, “It was pretty funny. Maybe Rafael Nadal wants his arms back?” He went on to admit that he's never been in as good shape as the cover photo showed.
Looking at the cover photo and a shirtless pic of Roddick side by side reveals just how much editing was done. The photo gives Roddick a pretty ridiculous tan, considering he's pretty pasty in most of his photos. The photo editors also decided to make his arms about twice their normal size and ridiculously muscular, which is what sparked his comment about Rafael Nadal wanting his arms back. The edited photo also show his pecs as much more defined than they are in real life and his waist has been trimmed down to give him a more “masculine” shape.
Photos that add muscle tone that doesn't exist in real life sends the message that muscles equal masculinity and that all men should strive to have bigger muscles.
14 Justin Bieber- Um, the bulge is real
If you weren't a Belieber before the infamous Calvin Klein ad, then you certainly were after. That photoshoot defined the word thirsty. After the ad ran, a pop music site called BreatheHeavy.com released photos they claimed were unretouched originals from the photoshoot. The Internet exploded when they saw the difference between the photos.
The first thing that most people noticed was the difference in Bieber's, ummm, package in each photo. In the alleged unretouched photo, Bieber appears to be much less well endowed than in the CK ad that made it to press. In the alleged unretouched photo Bieber also looks much slimmer and his muscles look much less defined. It appears as if CK beefed him up for the ad.
Bieber took to the Internet to defend the CK ads, saying that the photos BreatheHeavy.com were actually the Photoshopped images. Eventually, BreatheHeavy.com issued a retraction. If the photos they claimed were unretouched were fakes, it would be the first time that a media outlet has made a male celebrity look smaller… in more ways than one.
13 George Clooney- Basically every wrinkle gone
We all know that George Clooney is old these days. I mean, he's been a superstar actor since before many of us were born, so obviously, he's older than most of our dads. That being said, he is one damn fine old man. Since we know that he's old, and he's still hot as hell even though he's old, why does the media insist on making him look younger than he is?
In the Photoshopped image Clooney appears years younger than in the original photo. His skin has been dramatically smoothed out and almost all of the wrinkles have been removed. The bags under his eyes have been removed entirely. His eyebrows have been darkened, removing the gray. His hair has also been darkened, taking away his silver fox status.
This image asks us to believe that a man we've been watching for years hasn't aged a bit.
12 Brad Pitt- His stand against it
Brad Pitt is one of the most gorgeous men on the planet, so why do photo editors think he needs any help from Photoshop? Photo editors had been Photoshopping images of Pitt for years, but almost a decade ago, Pitt himself drew a line in the sand. He came out and publicly said that he would no longer allow his images to be Photoshopped.
As he got older, he found that his images were being Photoshopped more in order to hide his developing wrinkles and other flaws. Pitt said that he wanted images of him to be real and raw, so he said no more Photoshopping. A completely unedited close up of Pitt was featured on the cover of “W Magazine” in 2009. The photo shows all his pores and wrinkles, his real face.
Pitt just did a spread for “GQ” in which he's featured on the cover, and again, his photos are unretouched. It's very rare to see a middle aged man with all his wrinkles and flaws portrayed in a major fashion magazine, but that's what Pitt has elected to do, time and again.
11 Adam Levine- No facial hair?
The “Maroon 5” lead singer can make any woman swoon, so the idea that his image would need to be Photoshopped is baffling. Effects have been used to make his skin look smoother and give it a weird kind of glow. The lines around his eyes have been removed, as have his dimples and the laugh lines around his mouth. The creases in his forehead have been removed. The photo editors changed the proportions of his face to make his forehead appear smaller. Even his bone structure has been changed, making his face look much different than it appears in the unretouched photo.
The Photoshopped image doesn't even look like Adam Levine. It looks like a picture of a younger relative or an Adam Levine lookalike. What's the point of retouching an image to the point where it doesn't even look like the celebrity?
10 Seth Meyers- No lines
This late night host's promotional photo is perfect example of the use of Photoshop to erase perfectly natural signs of aging. In the promo photo for his late night talk show, Meyers looks noticeably more youthful than he ever does on the actual show.
The lines in his forehead have been almost completely smoothed over. The smile and laugh lines around his mouth have been dramatically reduced, as have the lines under and around his eyes. His skin has been smoothed out and actually appears to have been lightened. His hair has also been made darker, missing the slightly silver tint that shows on TV. His nose appears to have been slimmed down, as has his face.
Meyers isn't even a Hollywood heartthrob, so the idealized image of him seems even more inane. Why can't his promo photo just be a picture of him as he is?
9 Matthew Morrison- 10 years younger
Everyone's favorite Glee Club teacher has also been a victim of Photoshopping. The picture of Morrison used for the Glee promos isn't as egregious an example of Photoshopping, but you can definitely tell that they've edited the image to make him appear younger. The lines on his neck and cheeks have been removed in the promotional image. His skin has been made smoother and given a dewy glow, and his stubble has been removed. In the edited photo, Morrison's forehead has also been made wider and his bone structure has been altered to make his face appear less angular.
Though this photo isn't as heavily Photoshopped as some of the others on this list, the difference between the face shown in the edited photo and the one shown in the unedited photo is still super noticeable. Our society is so anti-aging, that even a few lines and wrinkles can't make an appearance in a promo photo.
8 David Boreanz- Lighter and smoother
David Boreanz is another victim of an overly edited promotional image. His “Bones” promo photo seems to show a much younger version of the actor. Anyone who watched “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” back in the day knows that David Boreanz did, at one point, look like the man in this promo photo, but he definitely doesn't anymore. Probably because it's twenty years later!
In the promo photo his skin has been dramatically lightened and smoothed out (just like his vampire days!). The bags and lines under his eyes have been removed. The photo editors narrowed his nose and made it slightly smaller. His face has also been slimmed down and his cheekbones have been made more prominent.
For actors who have been in the spotlight as long as Boreanz, the struggle to look the way they did years ago is so real. Maybe that's why their photos get retouched so often.
7 Jon Hamm- Tan, very tan
Who knew that Don Draper was so much younger and sexier than the man who plays him, Jon Hamm? Oh wait, this is just another case of an over-Photoshopped promotional photo. Jon Hamm's “Mad Men” alter ego is given a much suaver look in this photo.
In the retouched photo, Hamm's skin tone is completely different, not to mention the fact that his skin is smooth and barely wrinkled. Hamm's jawline and cheekbones have been made more prominent in the promotional photo, making his face look stronger.
I get that actors transform in to their characters in order to provide us with entertainment, but this is a little much. Especially considering that Don Draper isn't supposed to be some youthful heartthrob. He's a hard working, hard drinking advertising exec. He should look a little rough around the edges. This promo photo is way too polished for John Hamm or Don Draper.
6 Clive Owen- Every line, gone!
Clive Owen's Lancome Men ad is an example of Photoshop ruining natural perfection. Clive Owen's natural bone structure is a gift from the Gods. That jawline! Those cheekbones! That chin! It's like he was carved from marble by an Italian master.
But for some reason, Lancome saw fit to change his divine bone structure for their ad. They've enhanced his jawline, making it too angular. They hollowed out his cheeks, maybe in an attempt to make his cheekbones even more prominent, but it really only makes him look starved. His adorable smile lines have been removed, as have the crow's feet around his eyes. The lines on his forehead and the bags under his eyes have been removed as well. His eyebrows and hair have been darkened, even though he's not even showing signs of graying.
This photo takes all Owen's natural gorgeousness and replaces it with manufactured, pretty boy fantasy.
5 Harry Styles-Complete makeover
Before we even begin here, the 'alterations' made to this image might be the most extreme on this list. Okay, they are the most extreme on this list. He was probably a teenager when this picture was taken and fixing up his face was nice of the photographer to do but this is a little too intense. He didn't need to have all of his, let's call them red freckles, removed. He looks like a doll in the image on the right and terrifying in the image on the left. Somewhere in the middle, editing wise, would have sufficed. We all know what it is like to be a teenager with uncontrollable skin, some of us still struggle with skin issues later on in life. Skin is something we are always trying to figure out.
4 Jake Johnson- 10 years younger
Jake Johnson is one of our favorite funny guys, but there's nothing funny about what's been done to him in this promotional photo for “The New Girl.”
His skin has been smoothed out, erasing the wrinkles around his mouth and his eyes. His nose has been slightly thinned out. The bags under his eyes have been drastically reduced. His jaw and cheekbones have been made more prominent and his face has been slightly thinned out. His eyes are also slightly larger, balancing out his face. Even his stubble has been thinned out and lightened. Why wouldn't they just remove it if they wanted him to look more clean cut?
The retouched photo isn't as bad as some of the others. At least Johnson still looks like himself. But why touch him up at all if the changes are going to be so minor? Why not just show him how he is?
3 Ian Somerhalder- Maybe he really is a vampire
This is yet another tragic example of ideal bone structure ruined by a Photoshop happy editor. Like Clive Owen, Ian Somerhalder has a nearly perfect jawline and cheekbones that could cut glass. So, why in the world would the photo editors decide to change his face for a promotional photo?
Like so many of the other male victims of retouching, Somerhalder's face has been thinned out, making his face look a little hollow. His already square jaw has been adjusted to fit the thinner face, making it look absurdly defined. His dramatic cheekbones have been almost entirely eliminated. All of the lines around his mouth and eyes have been removed and his skin has been made flawless. He's even been given a glow that makes him look like he's reflecting the sun. The entire image looks a bit surreal.
Somerhalder has a face that needs no improvement, but photo editors decided to do it anyway, because Hollywood demands more than perfection.
2 Usher- Glow much?
Studio shots for albums often have a very artsy feel to them, so it's not really a surprise that many of them are Photoshopped. But when the editing takes as many liberties as this photo, it's a discredit to the subject.
In the retouched photo, Usher's skin has been lightened and given a golden glow. As you can see from the unretouched photo, Usher already has a godly glow, so why lighten his skin and give him an unnatural glow? His nose has also been slimmed down and made shapelier. His lips appear fuller in the retouched photo as well. Usher's skin is almost perfect to begin with, but his skin in the retouched photos is unreal. The few wrinkles he has in real life have been smoothed out and the bags under his eyes have been transformed in to shadows. His brow ridge has also been made more defined.
Even if this photo was meant to be an artsy interpretation of its subject, the changes don't do Usher justice.
1 Channing Tatum- Is hotter without photoshop
The ultimate Photoshop fail goes to Channing Tatum, mostly because Channing Tatum actually looks hotter in his unretouched photos. One of the reasons Channing Tatum is so gorgeous is because of his rugged, just walked off a farm or maybe just got off a horse, look. When his photos get retouched he loses all this rugged hotness. He's still gorgeous in the retouched photos, but on him, perfection just doesn't look right.
In his unretouched photos, the lines on his face make him look like he's been in the sun just the right amount of time. In the Photoshopped photo his skin is too pale and the lines have been removed. His jawline has been altered, making his face look softer, which isn't the best look for him. His natural glow has even been taken out, making him look a little dull.
The fact that Channing Tatum looks better without Photoshop is a testament to the fact that “fixing” these images by retouching them is futile effort.
Hollywood is obsessed with youth and perfection. In order to project this image to the public, they fundamentally change the way actors look by manipulating their images. This isn't fair to the actors or the public. Why can't we let these men be the gorgeous men they are, in all their natural glory? Why do we need to be served up idealized images instead of reality? Continuing to do this perpetuates unrealistic standards for men. I'll take a real man with his gray hair, wrinkles, and natural bone structure any day. Especially if he's Clive Owen.