Allure magazine is feeling the heat after printing "Star Trek" actress Zoe Saldana's weight on its June cover.
“Zoe Saldana: 115 Pounds of Grit and Heartache," the headline reads.
And people did not like that.
New York mag's The Cut called it "bizarre and unnecessary," adding "several hundred pages of possibly decent editorial content, overshadowed by a stupid cover line."
Yahoo's omg! also slammed the beauty mag: "Every time we seem to be making progress in the way women are portrayed in magazines, somehow we take a step back," before concluding that "the decision to showcase Saldana's digits seems so ... unnecessary."
Saldana, on the other hand, defended the magazine's editorial decision and explained during an interview on "Today":
"I think it would have been wrong if they were lying about my weight. This is how much I weigh, it's something I can't control, it's who I am. I've always been a very thin frame, I was a ballet dancer. I don't think it was to make an issue of my weight. I think it was to say for a lightweight person, I seem to be really strong-minded."
Hollywood Life's Bonnie Fuller responded by explaining to ABC News, "I really think the editors were setting out to be complimentary. They wanted to show that a woman could be small in size, but powerful in spirit."
So after all of the back-and-forth, Allure opened up the conversation on their Facebook page, writing:
There’s been some talk around the blogosphere about the cover line for our story about Zoë Saldana, “115 Pounds of Grit and Heartache.” The girl is a powerhouse. And we were so impressed by what a tough, confident woman Saldana is (on-screen, in her action-movie roles, and off) that we wanted to capture that. But some people have said citing her weight on the cover was a mistake. Here’s your chance to sound off: Tell us what you think!"
The post currently has over 315 comments.
Some are critical of the magazine, writing "Would you have posted her weight if she had been 200 pounds??? I bet not" and "Definitely a mistake. I can tell you for a fact that many young girls to young women are going to strive to be 115 lbs; no matter what their body type."
Others were more supportive, "I don't know why people freak out over the fact that she weighs 115 lbs. Good for her. I am sure she works her ass off to maintain that weight, and she should...it contributes to her livelihood. It's part of her 'job' and the acting parts that she prefers to play. I don't see what the big deal is."
Regardless of your opinion, there's no denying the controversy will likely lead to a good bump in this month's magazine sales.
SEE ALSO: Mo'Nique documents her 80lb weight loss via Twitter >
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