TRENDING: Why Vogue Brazil Photoshopped Models To Look Like Disabled Paralympians

03/09/2017 10:16 am EST

In an effort to promote the 2016 Paralympics, Vogue Brazil launched a photo campaign featuring Brazilian Paralympic athletes Renato Leite and Bruna Alexandre. The only thing is, they photographed and Photoshopped able-bodied models — Cleo Pires and Paulo Vilhenato — to match the disabilities of Leite and Alexandre.

Photo editors removed Pires' arm and Vilhena's leg to look like actual Paralympians Leite and Alexandre.

Vogue Brazil's translated caption of the post reads:

To attract visibility to the [Paralympics] and highlight the relevance of Brazilian disabled athletes in the panorama of the national sport, @cleopires_oficial and @vilhenap accepted the invitation to be ambassadors of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee and star in the campaign We Are All [Paralympics.]

The models are reportedly both ambassadors for the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, and have each shared Instagram photos of the campaign We Are All Paralympics.

While tough to understand why Vogue Brazil didn't just photograph the athletes, especially since the athletes were apparently on set during the photoshoot, it's worth noting that both volleyball player Leite and table tennis player Alexandre have shown support of the campaign, posting to their own Instagram accounts. (See Leite's post here and Alexandre's post here.)

The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, which have been seeing less-than-stellar ticket sales, will run September 7-19.

Do you think Vogue Brazil should have handled this campaign differently? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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