espn-nicki-minaj

She may be smiling on the cover, but Nicki Minaj is not happy with ESPN The Magazine. The hip-hop superstar has called out the sports publication for retouching her photo.

Nicki shares the cover of ESPN‘s Music Issue with Lakers star Kobe Bryant, but the cover photo was altered, according to Nicki.

She posted the image on Instagram, writing,

“When retouching goes wrong.”

To prove her point, she followed it up by sharing some behind-the-scenes pics from the shoot.

“I love my personal unretouched photos where my forehead doesn’t mysteriously grow in length,” said Nicki.

While she may not like the cover, she was excited to share the spotlight with Kobe.

“So honored to be a part of this with Kobe. Had a blast,” she added.

In his interview, Kobe praised the Young Money signee.

“I’ve obviously admired her work from afar, as we all have. My whole family, we’re all big Nicki fans,” said Kobe. “I just think it’s fascinating the way she’s been able to create this entire world around what Nicki Minaj is and what she represents for not just women, but kids as a whole.”

The issue, which hits newsstands Friday, also features cover stars Eminem and Kendrick Lamar.

ESPN editor-in-chief Chad Millman has denied Nicki’s claim that the magazine elongated her forehead on the cover.

In a statement to toofab, Millman said,

“While we occasionally make minor visual and cosmetic adjustments to cover images, we do not significantly change a person’s unique physical characteristics.”

“The folks on our covers are too proud of their bodies to stand for that,” he continued. “The forehead Ms. Minaj walked in with is the one on the cover and we’re thrilled she participated.”

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