Fashion Photographer Anthony Citrano

[Update 3, 11:45 AM: Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing brilliantly explains why this is important and why you should care.]

[Update 2, 10:15 AM: The volume of angry email I woke up to this morning has astonished me. People, think about this: I pointed out a blooper [read the earlier post here] & was threatened with legal action for doing so. Now the basis for that threat is totally blown away by W’s own sister publication. What would you do? This isn’t about a hip, it isn’t about retouching (I do not object to retouching at all – I do it very frequently), and it isn’t about Demi Moore. It’s about my reputation – and the rights of all bloggers to express themselves without being bullied with threats to their livelihood. Please consider this before writing to tell me how stupid/obsessed/vicious I am.]

[Update 1, 8:45 AM: fixed cover image now available on W Korea's web site.]

Right when you thought (hoped) this whole thing was over, something comes along that, as the Jerky Boys would say, puts a whole different paint job on things. I was back in Maine for Christmas (and of course, holding my breath for an apology and retraction from Demi Moore and her legal team), just hanging out with my Mom and her cat – and in came a cameraphone tip from halfway ’round the world. [Thanks, Joe!]

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[12/27 update: W Korea Takes My Side, Fixes Demi's]

On Tuesday night, I received an aggressive and threatening letter from Martin Singer, Demi Moore’s attorney. It is marked “Confidential Legal Notice – Publication or Dissemination is Prohibited”. However, since Mr. Singer and I have no confidentiality agreement, and it provides essential context to the matter at hand, I have decided to publish it.

I’ll start by expressing how bizarre it feels to be immersed in a controversy that should be no controversy at all. The question of whether a celebrity was over-retouched is not one I am particularly proud of spending my mental cycles on.

When I originally pointed out (in a friendly, lighthearted way) a simple retouching blooper, I had no inkling of the total shitstorm that would follow. It gained momentum quickly, and I commented to several media outlets on the matter, always sure to frame it fairly: I have no problem with digital retouching (do it all the time), no problem with Demi Moore (she’s a beautiful woman), think the image is a great shot (kudos, Mert and Marcus) – I simply thought the missing hip-chunk was funny. I thought we could all laugh about it for the day (maybe tack it up on a retoucher’s wall of shame) and move on to the far more important things. We are all human; we all make mistakes (me, more than my fair share.)

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Images from “The Lovely Bones” premiere in Hollywood, December 7, 2009.