Gabourey Sidibe at the Essence "Black Women In Hollywood" luncheon in March and on the cover of Elle's October issue. Photo: Scott Kirkland, Retna

Another day, another fashion airbrushing controversy!

Elle magazine is denying accusations that it digitally lightened the skin of actress Gabourey Sidibe, who is appearing on one of the October issue's four celebrity covers, the Telegraph reports.

The fashion magazine -- which last month featured Julia Roberts on its front -- is also being criticized for showing slim October cover girls Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, and Lauren Conrad in full-length poses, while the plus-size Sidibe is only seen from the chest up, according to the paper.

The Oscar-nominated "Precious" actress appears on the cover in a draped emerald green gown and rocking long, straight locks, though her glowing skin does seem to be a few shades lighter than normal. (See above left and her Harper's Bazaar shoot from earlier this year for comparison.)

So is the lighter skin a result of her makeup or the lighting used on set? Or did somebody get too eager with the Photoshop?

Elle reportedly claims "nothing out of the ordinary" was done.

"We have four separate covers this month, and Gabby's cover was not retouched any more or less than the others," the 25-year-old magazine said in an official statement.

"We had 25 cover-worthy subjects in our portfolio and we chose Gabby because of who she is.

"We shot this as a story of exuberant young women changing the world. If you take a look at the portfolio, each of the women were shot in different ways and for different reasons."

Hmmm... "more or less than the others"? Sounds fishy.

It's not the first time accusations of skin lightening have been made. In 2008, L'Oréal received complaints that it had allegedly lightened Beyoncé's skin in a Feria ad.

Do you suspect that Sidibe's skin was lightened? Leave a comment!

In other fashion drama, Sears has pulled its controversial Twin Towers shirt.