Ronda Rousey Fights Back After Photoshop Fail

At left, Ronda Rousey unretouched; right, the photo sent to her by Jimmy Fallon. (Photo: @rondarousey/Instagram)

When Ronda Rousey sat down with Jimmy Fallon, she spoke with the talk-show host about her Sports Illustrated cover and, of course, her high-flying fighting career. She wore a black-to-silver ombré and fringe dress from Wow Couture, with Tamara Mellon strappy heels. Following the appearance, she shared a photo on Instagram of her look, with product details and shout-outs to her stylist and makeup artist. But while she looked beautiful, her followers noticed something a little strange about her biceps.

Of the nearly 3,000 comments on the post from Thursday night, a majority of them were pointing out that Rousey’s arms were looking deflated and super skinny. “You have the most amazing ufc fighter arms that a lot of ufc girls desire to have,” one commenter wrote.

Just hours later, Rousey responded to her critics by posting a text quote: “One of life’s simple truths: If you post a rude, insulting comment on a complete stranger’s social media, you’re a sad, empty loser. You’re also an a**hole.”

“#quotephase” (Photo: @rondarousey/Instagram)

With that social media retaliation fueling the fire, she put an end to the controversy by sharing a side-by-side image: one unretouched photo, the other retouched. “I have to make an apology to everyone — I was sent a picture to share on social for Fallon that was altered without me knowing to make my arms look smaller,” wrote Rousey, who recently lost a major match to Holly Holm. “I won’t say by who — I know it was done with severely misplaced positive intentions — but this goes against everything I believe, and I am extremely proud of every inch of my body. And I can assure you all it will never happen again. I could not be more appalled and hope you all forgive me.”

The 29-year-old is far from the only celebrity victimized by deviant retouchers. Zendaya got an entire editorial from a magazine pulled because she disapproved of the excessive airbrushing. Kate Winslet, who is a Lancôme spokesperson, has it in her contract that her ads for the beauty brand won’t be retouched. Khloé Kardashian and Justin Bieber also shared similar side-by-sides after they were called out by fans for misleading them with their hot bods.

Rousey has been an outspoken body-positive advocate, so it comes as no surprise that she’d be angry over being digitally manipulated without her consent. Not only did she pose for Sports Illustrated in nothing but body paint, but her frame and athletic build have helped her become a role model for lots of young people. Although, just because she’s confident in her skin now doesn’t mean she always felt that way. “These are issues that I think every girl deals with growing up, and it’s something that’s largely ignored and unaddressed,” Rousey said about having low self-esteem and negative thoughts regarding her body. “I would like that to be different for girls growing up after me. It shouldn’t have been as hard as it was.”

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