Controversy Brewing Over Lil Kim’s Heavily Edited Ebony Magazine Cover

Lil Kim denied a photographer’s claims that she chose the heavily edited photo displayed on the latest cover of Ebony magazine.

The Queen Bee took to social media to seemingly debunk claims made by Ebony photographer Keith Major, who claimed Kim was “in control” of the extremely photoshopped cover shoot. The criticism started after Ebony debuted the cover photo on Tuesday, September 19.

“There will never be another like @lilkimthequeenbee — she still is and has always been “That B***,” Ebony captioned the post unveiling the cover photo.

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The cover photo received a swarm of mixed reactions, with many commenting on Lil Kim’s appearance in the Fall 2023 Hip-Hop 50 commemorative print edition.

“this GOTTA be AI cuz that look nowhere near Lil Kim,” one fan wrote.

“Harpo…. Who dis woman?” asked someone else.

After catching wind of the negative response, Major hopped into the comments to defend his involvement, after one viewer asked who the photographer was.

“Man she wanted to be in control in the retouching so this is what we got,” Major said in a response captured by The Shade Room.

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But, once Kim was made aware of Major’s claims, she took to her Instagram Story to agree with fans and accuse Ebony of going with a photo she didn’t approve of.

“Who is this?! Cuz [sic] that’s not the photo I approved or any other content they’ve put out,” Kim wrote alongside a screenshot of the heavily edited photo.

The “Lady Marmalade” rapper claimed to have told Ebony’s team that the photo “looked like a painting” but claimed they “didn’t wanna listen.”

“They said they loved it. It’s the sabotage for me. The funny s—t about this is that this is THEIR retoucher 🤣😩🤦‍♀️,” Lil Kim claimed.

A member of Kim’s team doubled down on the rapper’s claims, saying they have “receipts” that the photo they chose wasn’t the one that was used. But when looking at a side-by-side of both photos, there wasn’t much difference.

Keith Major has been behind many celebrated Ebony covers, including Jonathan Majors’ Valentine’s Day-inspired shoot and one more recently with rapper Busta Rhymes that gives him a king-like persona in his hometown of New York City.

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It might be why Major was quick to defend his honor when it came to this Lil Kim cover.