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Portuguese magazine apologizes for calling Dutch princess 'plus-size' on cover
Social media users slammed the magazine, calling the headline 'dangerous' and 'shameful'.
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Dutch Princesses Ariane (left), Catharina Amalia (center) and Alexia pose for the annual royal photo session in the garden of Huis ten Bosch Palace, in The Hague, on July 19, 2019.
(ANP/AFP/Remko de Waal)
P
ortuguese entertainment magazine Caras has apologized for calling 16-year-old Princess Catharina-Amalia, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Netherlands, “plus-sized” on its July cover.
The cover features a photo released by the Dutch royal family with Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and her eldest daughter Princess Catharina-Amalia with a headline that translates to “Maxima’s oldest daughter proudly wears her ‘plus-size’ look,” as reported by Independent.
A subhead of the cover also said “the harassed heir to the throne of the Netherlands faces criticism with force and with the support of her parents. A princess who goes through puberty without taboos and defends her figure of a ‘real woman’.”
Read also: Body shaming is more dangerous than you think
Social media users slammed the magazine, calling the headline “dangerous” and “shameful”, according to Standard. Some said the wording was inappropriate, especially toward a minor.
The magazine then released a statement from director Liliana Castaño, who initially defended the headline but later took to Instagram and said, “Reading the whole text will greatly help a constructive debate,” adding that the magazine’s intention was for the story to be “inspiring” about overcoming bullying.
However, the magazine then issued an official apology on its website, saying the cover “provoked the least desired controversy by our publication.”
“We live in a time of deconstruction of stereotypes. The media are also mirroring […] society and of the changes that are transforming the world. We are all learning, the media too,” the apology said.
“We recognize our responsibility in this deconstruction and feel that we are part of it,” said Castaño. “We understand that even without malicious intent, we made a mistake. I offer my sincere apologies to all those who have felt aggrieved.” (car/kes)
