Natalie Portman’s Dior Ad Banned In The U.K. Because…Wait, Why?

Natalie Portman is perfect and beautiful and has never done anything wrong or vulgar at all, right? So, why would one of her ads for Dior mascara be banned in the U.K.? Were the customers offended by her dewy visage? No. But, apparently, L'Oréal was deeply disturbed and reported the photo to the Advertising Standards Agency.

Of course, L'Oréal has your best interests at heart — and we have to agree that Nat's lashes, which we estimate are somewhere between 10 and 20 feet long in the ad, aren't exactly realistic. And, because of the government's rule that advertisements may in no way mislead customers about the actual effects of the product, L'Oréal made a perfectly legal move to push a competitor out of the market, at least, for now. The ads cannot be published pending further review.

Oddly enough, the photos were apparently originally shot for a Dior lipstick campaign — but her eyes looked so darn gorgeous that they decided to repurpose it for mascara. And by repurpose, of course, we mean Photoshop. Nothing more than the normal treatment any mascara ad would get, but the brand did "separate/increase the length and curve of a number of her lashes and to replace/fill a number of missing or damaged lashes, for a more stylised, uniform and tidy effect." It's not Maybelline; it's Dior, but either way, she's definitely not born with it.

No consumers actually reported the ads themselves, so either they don't agree with L'Oréal or they were so misled that they didn't even know it. Whatever the case, this is the kind of advertising turf war we normally expect to see on Mad Men, not in real life! (The Cut)