--- title: Keira Knightley Posed Topless to Show How She Looks Without Photoshop description: "I think women's bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame." canonical: https://time.com/3559286/keira-knightley-topless-photoshop/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-05T21:18:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:44:26.270Z og:title: Keira Knightley Posed Topless to Show How She Looks Without Photoshop og:description: "I think women's bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame." og:url: https://time.com/3559286/keira-knightley-topless-photoshop/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a0c8ec73682d555/6987645fcd1bba90dd6f3040/455297292.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1996 og:image:height: 1123 og:image:alt: "The Imitation Game" Press Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Keira Knightley Posed Topless to Show How She Looks Without Photoshop twitter:description: "I think women's bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a0c8ec73682d555/6987645fcd1bba90dd6f3040/455297292.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Keira Knightley Posed Topless to Protest Photoshopping > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: 10 Questions with Keira Knightley [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Questions with Keira Knightley](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GFsRXXeR.m3u8) (4:42)  _Published 2014-07-08. Actress Keira Knightley talks to TIME's Belinda Luscombe about her new movie,_  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Nov 5, 2014 9:18 PM UTC  Keira Knightley at "The Imitation Game" Press Conference at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel on September 10, 2014 in Toronto, Ontario. Keira Knightley at "The Imitation Game" Press Conference at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel on September 10, 2014 in Toronto, Ontario. Vera Anderson—WireImage  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Nov 5, 2014 9:18 PM UTC Keira Knightley recently posed topless in _Interview Magazine_ as her own personal protest against photoshopping. Knightley told [_The Times_](http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/celebrity/article4257644.ece)she demanded the (not safe for work) [photos](http://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/keira-knightley-by-patrick-demarchelier) be unedited so people could see what she really looked like. “I’ve had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it’s paparazzi photographers or for film posters,” Knightley said. “That \[shoot\] was one of the ones where I said: ‘OK, I’m fine doing the topless shot so long as you don’t make them any bigger or retouch.’ Because it does feel important to say it really doesn’t matter what shape you are.” ([READ: Keira Knightley and 7 Other Celebs Who Protested Photoshop and Won](http://time.com/3572400/keira-knightley-topless-celebrities-protest-photoshop/)) Knightley’s figure was [controversially distorted](http://jezebel.com/5426296/photoshop-of-horrors-hall-of-shame-2000-2009/) on the poster for _King Arthur_ in 2004: Her breasts were edited to look bigger than they are in real life. Though the studio bore the brunt of that scandal, the actress herself came under fire in 2006 when she and Scarlett Johansson posed nude with a fully clothed Tom Ford on the [cover of _Vanity Fair_](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2107768%5F2107767%5F2107763,00.html), in a picture that emphasized the gap the demands made of famous women and men in terms of playing up their sexuality. (Rachel McAdams reportedly skipped the shoot after realizing the women would be asked to pose in the buff.) But Knightley is taking a stand now. The _Interview_ shoot captures Knightley’s real figure—including her true breast size. “I think women’s bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame,” the _Imitation Game_ actress told _The Times_. “Our society is so photographic now, it becomes more difficult to see all of those different varieties of shape.” ([READ: This Is What the Same Woman Looks Like Photoshopped in Different Countries](http://time.com/2934434/this-is-what-the-same-woman-looks-like-photoshopped-in-different-countries/)) That’s just one of many candid truths 29-year-old Knightley has been preaching on her current press tour. This month, she also [told Net-a-Porter](http://www.net-a-porter.com/magazine/271/10) that she’s annoyed as a feminist that most movies reflect only what middle-aged white men want and identify with. She has turned down many a role because she thought she was being asked to do things male actors are never asked to do—specifically gratuitous sex and violence. “It’s actually a difficult question: how much flesh are you meant to bare?” she said. “We’re saying that we should be sexually liberated but then again not _that_ sexually liberated. It’s confusing.” She added that she long ago left fairy tales behind: “Why should you wait for some f–king dude to rescue you?” Amen. ### Here's What 20 Famous Women Think About Feminism  "People have sorely messed up the definition of feminism. It isn’t saying this is wrong and this is right," said Chrissy Teigen during a Variety event in 2014, adding that husband John Legend also identifies: "He’s a bigger feminist than I am! He actually teaches me a lot about the way women should be perceived." D Dipasupil—Getty Images for Extra  The Twilight actress reacted to women rejecting feminism during a Daily Beast interview in October: "That’s such a strange thing to say, isn’t it? Like, what do you mean? Do you not believe in equality for men and women? I think it’s a response to overly-aggressive types." Loic Venance—AFP/Getty Images  "I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me," said Emma Watson at a UN Women speech in September. "Men-- I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender Equality is your issue, too." Anthony Harvey—Getty Images  “I would say on some levels I am \[a feminist\]. Angela Davis is one of my heroes,” Halle Berry told Ebony in April. “And Gloria Steinem—these are people who, as I was growing, I was moved by and impacted by and thought very deeply about.” Joe Scarnici—Getty Images  "I don’t think of myself as being a feminist,” Sinead O'Connor told The Guardian in July. “I wouldn’t label myself anything, certainly not something with an ‘ism’ or an ‘ist’ at the end of it. I’m not interested in anything that is in any way excluding of men.” Jason Kempin—Getty Images  "I wouldn’t say \[I'm a\] feminist, that’s too strong. I think when people hear feminist it’s just like, ‘Get out of my way I don’t need anyone,’” Kelly Clarkson told TIME last year. “I love that I’m being taken care of, and I have a man that’s an actual leader. I’m not a feminist in that sense … but I’ve worked really hard since I was 19." Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Leighton Meester told OOTD magazine in February about her biggest role model. "American writer Betty Friedan — she fought for gender equality and wrote the great book The Feminine Mystique which sparked the beginning of a second-wave feminism,” Meester said. “I believe in equal rights for men and women.” D Dipasupil—FilmMagic  “I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists," Ellen Page told The Guardian in 2013\. "Maybe some women just don’t care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?” Dave Kotinsky—Getty Images  "For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept,” Lana Del Rey told Fader magazine in their summer 2014 issue. “I’m more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities." (Tabatha Fireman—Redferns/Getty Images)  “I would \[call myself a feminist\], yes.” Rashida Jones said in 2013\. “I believe in the unadulterated advancement of women. And we have so far to go still.” Christopher Polk—NBC/Getty Images  “Am I a feminist? F–k yeah, I’m a feminist,” Jenny Slate told MTV News in June. “I think that unfortunately people who are maybe threatened by feminism think that it’s about setting your bra on fire and being aggressive, and I think that’s really wrong and really dangerous.” Jason Kempin—Getty Images  "A feminist? Um, yeah, actually,” Katy Perry told an Australian radio host in March. “I used to not really understand what that word meant, and now that I do, it just means that I love myself as a female and I also love men.” Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  Amy Poehler says she's confused by how many women deny that they're feminists, “but then they go on to explain what they support and live by — it’s feminism exactly,” she told Elle magazine in January. "That’s like someone being like, ‘I don’t really believe in cars, but I drive one every day and I love that it gets me places and makes life so much easier and faster and I don’t know what I would do without it.’” Jason Kempin—NBC/Getty Images  "We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet," Beyonce wrote in an essay titled "Gender Equality is a Myth" in January. She also famously included an excerpt from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDx talk in her song, "Flawless." Myrna Suarez—WireImage  “I feel like I’m one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women to not be scared of anything,” Miley Cyrus told the BBC last November. Julio Cesar Aguilar—AFP/Getty Images  "I wish when I was 12-years-old I had been able to watch a video of my favorite actress explaining in such an intellectual, beautiful, poignant way the definition of feminism."Taylor Swift said in reaction to Emma Watson's speech at the UN in September. "Because I would have understood it. And then earlier on in my life I would have proudly claimed I was a feminist because I would have understood what the word means." Isaac Brekken—Getty Images  “Women saying ‘I’m not a feminist’ is my greatest pet peeve,” Lena Dunham told Metro in 2013\. “Do you believe that women should be paid the same for doing the same jobs? Do you believe that women should be allowed to leave the house? Do you think that women and men both deserve equal rights? Great, then you’re a feminist.” Michael Buckner—Getty Images  "No, because I love men," was Shailene Woodley's response when TIME asked her whether she considered herself a feminist in May. "I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance…My biggest thing is really sisterhood more than feminism.” Dave J Hogan—Getty Images  “I’m getting the sense that you’re a little bit of a feminist, like I am, which is good,” Lady Gaga told the LA Times in 2009\. “I find that men get away with saying a lot in this business, and that women get away with saying very little . . . In my opinion, women need and want someone to look up to that they feel have the full sense of who they are, and says, ‘I’m great.’ “ Kevin Mazur—WireImage  “\[Feminism\] means being proud of being a woman, and \[having\] love, respect and admiration and the belief in our strong capacities,” Salma Hayek told Stylist in 2012\. “I don’t think we are the same, women and men. We’re different. But I don’t think we are less than men. There are more women than men in the world – ask any single woman! So it is shocking that men are in more positions of power.” Traverso—L'Oreal/Getty Images  Children yell to players after a game between the New York Mets and Houston Astros at Citi Field on September 28, 2014 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Alex Goodlett—Getty Images _Read next:_ * [_Keira Knightley: Love Actually Is the Greatest Movie Ever Made_](http://time.com/2940454/keira-knightley-love-actually/?xid=time%5Freadnext) * [_Actually, Keira Knightley Does Not Live on $50,000 a Year_](http://time.com/2993849/keira-knightley-50000-a-year/?xid=time%5Freadnext) * [_They’ve Created a Monster: The ‘Perfect Female Celebrity’_](http://time.com/2917712/perfect-female-celebrity-photoshop/?xid=time%5Freadnext) ## Transcript Hi, I'm Belinda Luscombe from Time. You know that guy who like totally betrayed you, and you wanted to make him feel super bad? Well, Keira Knightly does that in her new movie, Begin Again. And she's here to discuss that and other things with us. Keira, welcome. Thank you. So in this movie, Begin Again, you sing. Can you actually sing? I mean, it is my actual voice in the film. But no, I'm not a singer. [ MUSIC ] This one was prerecorded in a studio. And then we did it to playback. And you played guitar? I learned how to play the songs on guitar for this film. I wasn't very good. I could never sing and play at the same time. So, we had to do takes where I'd sing and I'd try and it wouldn't happen. And then takes where my fingers would be doing the right thing. So, you gonna keep up the guitar? No. I literally, I was so happy to put that guitar down and never pick it up again. [ CROSSTALK ]. Well the fingers, they do actually bleed. I mean they bleed. Ouch. And then they kind of get calloused, and then I sort of put it down for awhile and I thought, I can't be bothered to go through that again. The other thing that's interesting about this movies is that there is kind of a few interesting relationships. The first one is between your character and Mark Ruffalo's character, which is sort of mentor, men- tee. I mean, you sort of rescue you and he sort of rescues you, I guess. Yeah. But there's a possible, maybe romance going on that you can't quite figure out yet. It seemed to me in the movie that the, your character is like, I'm not gonna go down that road. Yeah. Do you, and that must happen to you in real life too, right? You must have this developed some way of, not now, because you're married, but of turning away potential suitors. Girls often have that 10, 000 yard stare- Oh yeah, yeah. Where they, it's like, I'm not looking either way. I'm just looking straight ahead. I've used that one. You've used that. Yeah, that's always a good one, isn't it? Stare straight ahead, don't make eye contact, that kind of thing. That kind of thing. Yeah. Is there any, have people come onto you [ CROSSTALK ]. I'm a bit of an ice queen. So, I think I give quite like a frightening exterior. So, generally speaking, unless I'm kind of [ INAUDIBLE ] you know, unless I'm up for it, they don't. You're too intimidating. I'm far too intimidating. You scare them away. Yeah. In the film Ruffalo, Ruffalo's character, hears you sing this one song, and it kind of, he hears how he will produce it. And it kind of transfixes him. Do you, do you remember having that transfixing moment with a song? To tell you the truth, I don't really listen to music. I know nothing about it at all. And it was sort of one of the reasons why I wanted to do this piece because I'm, obviously, I'm married to a musician. My brother has been in bands for most of his life. My fam, everybody around me is completely obsessed by music. And I don't have that thing. I don't, I, I think my brain doesn't quite work in that way. So I will try and listen to it, but I never think to put it on. I never like, I'm not one of those people that can say, oh it was this band and, this was the single and, these are the lyrics. I have no idea. So, that's kind of what I really enjoyed about this was to try and get my head into that mind of a person who does express themself, emotionally and creatively through music. Because I don't. Is there an era that you particularly like or feel more drawn to than others? Cuz you have done a lot of history stuff. I'm always interested in the 40s. I think that second World War period, I find really interesting. Because it sort of its statistics like the fact that STDs went through the roof, and pregnancies went through the roof with people out of wedlock. And you think it's funny because we have such a set notion of exactly what that period was like. But the extreme kind of nature of, literally death falling from the sky around you and that kind of that, that moment where you don't know if tomorrow is going to be your last day, and how you live within that, I find, I find really, really interesting and a really interesting kinda period to play with. Can we do a quick round of true or false? Here we go. Ian McShane was your drama teacher. Yeah but not, not that Ian McShane. See there you go. [ CROSSTALK ]. Different man, same name. You didn't have- Yup. Foul language in your drama class. I didn't. Well sometimes I did, but still not that Ian Mc, McShane. Your father did not let your mother have you until she had written another play. Her first play. That's true. Her first play. Yeah. And it was a big, it was a big success. It was a big success. They didn't have the money to have another child, and she'd given up acting. And so he said that you have to sell a script, and then you can have a child. And that's what happened. And then they got you. And then they got me. Wow. You, live on $ 50, 000 a year. That's not true. I didn't think it was true. No. Did you try it for a year? No! I, I don't know where this has come from. I've said all the way it's not true. I mean I wish it was true. That would be incred, yeah, I mean it's, it's a good amount of money to live on, but no it's not true. [ LAUGH ] Keira Knightley, thanks so much. 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