Karol G shares body confidence message: 'I feel very happy and comfortable with how I look naturally'

Karol G says she's happy with how she looks. That's why the singer is publicly expressing her disappointment with how GQ Mexico digitally manipulated her image.

The Colombian artist, born Carolina Giraldo Navarro, took to Instagram Thursday to share a bare-faced selfie and the May 2023 cover of GQ Mexico as a comparison.

"I don't even know where to start this message. Today my GQ magazine cover was made public, a cover with an image that DOES NOT represent me," began the caption.

"My face does not look like this. My body does not look like that and I feel very happy and comfortable with how I look naturally," she wrote.

She went on to explain that her excitement toward the cover has been tainted by the edits.

"I was very happy when they confirmed it would be there, but despite making clear my discontent with the number of [edits] they did [to] the photo, they didn't do anything about it," she shared. This made her feel as though the publication didn't think her actual image was worthy of being on the cover.

"As if to look good I needed all those changes," she said.

For ​​Giraldo, publicizing her discontent has larger implications: she wants to ensure other women aren't holding themselves to a false standard due to her photos.

"I understand the repercussions this can have, but beyond feeling it's disrespectful to me, it's to the women that wake up every day looking to feel comfortable with ourselves despite society's stereotypes," she concluded.

Her comment section was filled with users applauding her decision to speak up and commending her commitment to transparency.

"We love you. Thank you for representing natural beauty and speaking up about these things so many of us are afraid of," wrote one user.

Others shared that they hope this moment shows publications the importance of authenticity.

"This is a call out to stop editing people and start respecting people's bodies and features. It's 2023 and they still wanna edit women's bodies out there. Learning that diversity exists and respecting that we all look different and that's OK and normal, is one more step against the aesthetic violence we've been dragging for decades," shared another.

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