• On Wednesday, Vogue Italia unveiled the cover for its May issue on Instagram.
• Many think Gigi Hadid looks unrecognizable on the cover.
• People are accusing Vogue Italia of styling and Photoshopping her skin, hair, and facial features to appear darker than they really are.
• Some are saying that the magazine put the model in blackface.
• Hadid later responded to the accusations with a written apology on her Instagram story.

People are accusing Gigi Hadid and Vogue Italia of blackface after she appeared on the magazine's latest cover.

On Wednesday, Vogue Italia unveiled the cover for its May issue on Instagram. Hadid is featured front-and-center, sitting on a male model and posing in a crown and sequined jumpsuit. 

Some believe Vogue Italia put Hadid in blackface.

In the comments under the post, some have criticized the magazine for what they claim is a botched Photoshop job. Many think Hadid looks unrecognizable and have accused Vogue Italia of styling and editing the model's skin, hair, and facial features to appear darker than they really are. Some are saying that the magazine put Hadid in blackface.

"Really disappointing from Vogue," one Instagram user commented. "Can't believe no one picked up on the fact that it looks nothing like the model, and is actually offensive."

"You've darkened her skin so much and the face doesn't even look like poor Gigi," another person wrote. "You Photoshopped her into an entirely different girl!"

Others have also asked the magazine to hire ethnically diverse models moving forward instead of "darkening" someone's skin tone.

"Stop the blackface, stop the Photoshopping to make a model look more 'ethnic,'" freelance journalist and assistant producer Christy Somos tweeted after seeing the cover. "HIRE MORE DIVERSE MODELS if that's the look you need for your cover."

As many have noted online, this isn't the first time Vogue Italia and Hadid have been accused of blackface.

In 2015, the magazine came under fire after Hadid appeared on its November cover, and in photos inside, wearing blue, pink, yellow, and purple afro wigs.

The photographer behind Vogue Italia's latest cover with Hadid, Steven Klein, was also the subject of controversy in 2009 when he was accused of putting Dutch model Lara Stone in blackface for an editorial spread in Vogue Paris' October issue.

Hadid later responded to the accusations with a written apology on her Instagram story.

The model also posted a picture of her returning home from the photoshoot for Vogue Italia's cover, as seen below. "You can see the level I had been bronzed to on set that day," Hadid began her statement.

The model went on to state that she usually has no say over the creative direction of a photoshoot and that anything done to a picture after she leaves is "fully" out of her control. Hadid also said that while she understood what Vogue Italia's intentions were, they "were not executed correctly."

"The concerns that have been brought up are valid," Hadid wrote. "I want to address this for those who were offended by the editing/retouching/coloring of the cover. Please know that things would have been different if my control of the situation was different."

She continued: "I want to apologize because my intention is never to diminish those concerns or take opportunities away from anyone else, and I hope this can be an example to other magazines and teams in the future. There are real issues regarding representation in fashion — it's our responsibility to acknowledge those issues and communicate through them to work towards a more diverse industry."

Vogue Italia's May issue will be out on newsstands this Friday.

Representatives for Gigi Hadid, Vogue Italia, and Condé Nast did not immediately respond to INSIDER's requests for comment. Steven Klein did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.

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