Source reveals int’l magazine that rejected Chimamanda’s “glamorous” photos was ELLE

A source has revealed that the international magazine that rejected the “glamorous” photos of the award winning internationally renowned author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, was ELLE Magazine.

Chimamanda had remarked about the botched cover photoshoot on her verified Instagram handle “chimamanda_adichie” with a hashtag “#rejectedphotos”.

Recently, the award winning internationally renowned author shared that an an international magazine (now revealed to be French ELLE) rejected her photos in a proposed cover shoot.

Chimamanda posted:

“It was a cover shoot for an international magazine. Or it was supposed to be. The magazine rejected the photos.

“They didn’t want me ‘looking too glamorous,’ they said. And so the cover didn’t happen.

“What does one do with rejected photos but show them anyway, primarily for the vanity-boosting benefits of such an act?”

Although the renowned author did not disclose the “international magazine”, one of those who worked on the set of the photoshoot confirmed to Vanguard that they shot for French magazine, ELLE.

It was gathered that Adichie was the one who insisted that the shoot should be done in Nigeria, though the magazine wanted to do it abroad.

After much banter, ELLE later agreed to shoot in Nigeria, but not after it told the photographer what they wanted.

Having agreed on terms, the French ELLE organized all the logistics for the photoshoot, and even sent some designer outfits to Lagos.

However, a little upset occurred at the end of the photoshoot. A source told Vanguard:

“It was then very surprising to all of us who worked on the set after all this, to hear that French ELLE rejected the pictures.

“Looking at some of their other magazine covers, you can see that they use glamorous-looking women.

“So why did they not want Chimamanda’s photos to look glamorous?”

Reacting to Adichie’s post which went viral earlier in the week, Instagram users noted that it is likely that the magazine believed that as a Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie should look a certain way and should not be glamorous.

Many regarded it as a case of racism and stereotyping.

Adichie who has been known to be a huge promoter of Nigerian culture and brands on the global stage, especially with her Wear Nigerian project decided to share the photos in an attempt to still give visibility and consequent opportunities to the Nigerian vendors who worked on the shoot.

Following the disappointment, Adichie went ahead and ‘celebrated and thanked these talented people in Lagos’ who worked on the photoshoot, mentioning them by name and positions.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook