Kylie Jenner fought back against accusations that she posed in blackface at a recent photo shoot, saying that fans mistook a lighting trick for offensive blackface makeup.

Kylie Jenner Accused Of Posing In Blackface

The controversy began on Saturday, when Jenner shared a photo from her shoot with Marcelo Cantu. In the photo, Jenner appears almost other worldly, with dark, greyish skin that glitters and fuchsia-toned hair. She captioned the original photo “What I wish I looked like all the time.”

A photo posted by Kylizzle (@kyliejenner) on Apr 4, 2015 at 11:28pm PDT

Some immediately began to criticize the 17-year-old, accusing her of posing in blackface. Jenner responded to the controversy on Twitter and Instagram, deleting her original caption and sharing another photo explaining the technical details of the shoot. “This is a black light and neon lights people lets all calm down,” Jenner wrote on Instagram.

This is a black light and neon lights people lets all calm down @marcelocantuphoto @joycebonelli @chrisdylanhair @hubblestudio

A photo posted by Kylizzle (@kyliejenner) on Apr 4, 2015 at 3:48pm PDT

Kylie Jenner and Marcelo Cantu Defend Photos

Jenner added that when she wrote that she wished she resembled her photos, she meant the metallic skin and blue eyes: “Yes, in another world I wish I could have pink hair & blue eyes & covered in sparkles. But in this world I’m happy [with] the way God created me.”

Photographer Marcelo Cantu echoed Jenner’s statements on Twitter, writing, “People need #chill it’s called dramatic lighting and highlighter.”

Cantu continued to fight back against critics, including Zendaya, after she publicly apologized for liking the image before fans pointed out the controversy. “At first, I saw more of an avatar look but thank y’all for keepin me on point…we all gotta stay aware of what image we project #lessons,” Zendaya wrote.

Zendaya’s statement prompted Cantu to respond, saying, “It’s meant to be an alien/avatar #art.”

A photo posted by @krisjenner on Apr 6, 2015 at 7:55am PDT

Meanwhile, some other celebrities have come out to support Jenner. Karrueche Tran tweeted a positive message to Jenner, saying, “you’re beautiful just as you are girl!”

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.