A side-by-side comparison of Monica Bellucci on the internet has netizens baffled over what appeared to be an extreme case of photo editing.

Many were fuming online about how the heavily edited images stripped away her natural beauty, making her look like a different person.

The heated discussion about the 60-year-old star’s looks took place on a Reddit thread, titled,  “The way people edit Monica Belluci’s photos to make her ‘prettier.’”

A Reddit thread seemingly comparing Monica Bellucci’s real vs. edited looks sparked wild reactions

Image credits: Antoine Flament/WireImage

The Matrix Reloaded actress once said she is thankful for the existence of photo editing.

“I say thank heavens for retouching,” she toldAFP in a 2017 interview. “It’s airbrushing that saves us.”

Netizens erupted with outrage on a Reddit thread, which seemingly compared filtered images of the film star with her natural appearance.

“This is sick and disgusting,” one said.

Image credits: Rude_Lifeguard/popculturechat

“This gave me psychic damage,” one commenter said, while another wrote, “This is mental illness if I’ve ever seen it…”

“How dare she have human flaws,” one sarcastically wrote.

“This is why women have awful self esteem … it’s all fake,” another wrote.

Some felt the extreme edits made her look like she could be “Monica Kardashian,” hailing from the Kardashian family.

“My first thought was why did they turn her into a Kardashian?” one asked

Image credits: virgocrave/carràmba! che fortuna

“They don’t make her look better,” another agreed. “They entirely restructure her unique and natural appearance to turn her into a Kardashian. It’s weird. I don’t get it at all.”

“They are making her a different ethnicity,” one said.

The Italian actress previously said it doesn’t “bother” her to look like a “mature woman” on screen.

Image credits: Alamy

When she began noticing “lines” on her face and around her eyes, she said she looked at herself with “compassion.”

“I didn’t say to myself, ‘Oh my God, it’s monstrous!’ No, I think it is charming,” she said in her AFP interview.

The 60-year-old star said she looked at herself with “compassion” when she saw signs of aging

Image credits: monicabellucciofficiel

She also spoke in favor of plastic surgery, saying people should get it done if it “makes [them] happy.”

“When I see mature women who haven’t been redone I don’t say, ‘She should get her face lifted.’ I think to myself, ‘She is very lovely like that,’” the onscreen star said.

“However, when you see someone who has had work and who is beautiful with it, I say to myself, ‘She did the right thing,’” she continued.

The Spectre actress spoke in favor of plastic surgery, saying people should opt for it if it makes them happy

Image credits: Rude_Lifeguard/popculturechat

The important thing is doing “what is good for you,” she told the French news outlet.

Discussions about beauty standards have gained momentum in recent years. But some experts believe these standards have simply been “repackaged” rather than “truly transformed.”

“Hollywood continues to dictate idealized body norms, even when the specifics of those norms change,” celebrity life coach Dr. Patrick Wanis told Bored Panda via email. “Hollywood needs to establish beauty and body standards so that it has something to market and sell.”

Some experts believe beauty standards have simply been “repackaged” rather than “truly transformed”

Image credits: Rude_Lifeguard/popculturechat

The behavioral and relationship expert believes the industry has created the “illusion of inclusivity,” while digital alterations like photo filters and Photoshop continue to perpetuate unrealistic beauty standards.

“Social media and Hollywood have promoted the idea of body positivity and inclusivity, yet the industry still pressures people to meet an aesthetic that is unrealistic and often unattainable unless there is medical intervention or intense modifications – enhancements,” he said.

Image credits: vogueitalia

Even the perception of an ideal woman’s body has changed over the years, proving that beauty standards keep shifting rather than truly breaking the mold.

“In the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe’s hourglass figure was idealized. The 90s glorified the waif-thin look of models like Kate Moss,” Wanis said.

Even the perception of an ideal woman’s body has changed over the years

Image credits: Rude_Lifeguard/popculturechat

“Today, we see a greater acceptance of curves, but now there is an emphasis on a highly sculpted, ‘gym-toned’ physique, which is often achievable only through surgery, extreme fitness regimens, or digital alterations—photo filters and Photoshop,” he continued.

With digital alterations being more accessible than ever, the line between reality and perfection has truly blurred, leading to “heightened dysmorphic expectations.”

Image credits: Rude_Lifeguard/popculturechat

“The rise of AI, Photoshop, and beauty filters has heightened dysmorphic expectations—people now compare themselves not just to celebrities but to what are actually digitally altered versions of celebrities!” Wanis said.

“Thus, rather than fully embracing diverse beauty standards, Hollywood has subtly reshaped old ideals under new disguises—like the ‘strong not skinny’ trend, which still prioritizes unrealistic perfection,” he continued.

“Women can never be enough, it’s exhausting to exist under patriarchy,” said one commenter

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