Was the photoshopped Ralph Lauren model fired for being overweight?

Most of us know that a tall, young woman who weighs 120 pounds is not overweight. But Hamilton claims Ralph Lauren was dissatisfied with her body, and therefore fired her six months ago. However, the company continued to use her image, whittling down her arms, waist, thighs, and possibly several other body parts in the above ad. If they were so unhappy with how she looked, why not get another model for the campaign? Why use the photos and alter and distort them?


Today, Ralph Lauren himself is distancing himself from the ad, claiming, "The image in question was mistakenly released and used in a department store in Japan and was not the approved image which ran in the U.S." So we're confused. They say the photoshopping was an error, that Hamilton is "beautiful and healthy," yet they allegedly fired her for her size? With all these apologies and statements it sounds like the brand still has yet to accept responsibility for their actions.

clipped from shine.yahoo.com Last week Ralph Lauren came under fire for (what looked to be) an extremely altered photo of a model in one of its ads. public interest and outrage over the dangerously thin looking model and, eventually, the clothing company released this apology: For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately. Unfortunately,"addressing the problem" may have included firing the model, 23-year-old Filippa Hamilton. She is 5'10" and weighs 120 pounds--clearly more full-bodied than the photoshopped girl we see in the advertisement. "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," she explained