Kerry Washington appears on the March cover for InStyle magazine, and instead of sharing the Scandal star’s enthusiasm for the cover, fans took to Twitter to accuse InStyle of lighting her skin tone.

Kerry Washington’s InStyle Cover

Washington excitedly shared her InStyle cover photo on Instagram Wednesday, writing, “I’m THRILLED to share with you all that I’m on the cover of this year’s March @instylemagazine! Can’t wait for you guys to see it and read it! So honored. And crazy excited.”

While Washington seemed delighted by the picture, in which she’s wearing a white sleeveless dress with a snakeskin belt, some of her more vocal fans were outraged by the color of her complexion. “Glad you made the cover kerry, but this isn’t right. I’m sorry. It’s not. Don’t let them do that to you,” one Twitter user wrote. Another asked, “Why is she white in this picture.”

After becoming aware of the backlash, InStyle released a statement to explain that they did not digitally alter Washington’s skin while editing the picture and credit whatever observed lightness to the lighting used during the photoshoot.

“While we did not digitally lighten Kerry’s skin tone, our cover lighting has likely contributed to this concern,” InStyle’s statement read. “We understand that this has resulted in disappointment and hurt. We are listening, and the feedback has been valuable. We are committed to ensuring that this experience has a positive influence on the ways in which we present all women going forward,”

Washington, likely hoping to put the controversy behind her, tweeted, “Beautiful statement. Thank u 4 opening this convo. Its an important 1 that needs to be had.”