Unaltered Leaked Photo Of Cindy Crawford Causes Stir On Social Media

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — An unaltered photograph of supermodel Cindy Crawford has caused quite a stir on social media and rekindled the debate on body image.

The photo was originally tweeted out Friday by a British news anchor, who spotted it on a fashion blog. Since then, it's been retweeted thousands of times.

"I think it finally reveals the dark curtain behind airbrushing and I think it makes us feel a little bit better that we don't have to strive for this unattainable perfection," Melissa Chataigne, a celebrity stylist and fashion and beauty expert, said.

"Now that we see that she has a wrinkly belly and maybe some cellulite, it's like, 'It's OK,' " Chataigne said.

The photograph of the soon-to-be 49-year-old, mother of two was taken more than a year ago for Marie Claire, but was never published.

In a statement on its website, the magazine wrote of the photo: "... it is real, it is honest, and it is gorgeous."

The statement went on to say: "No matter where the photo came from, it's an enlightenment -- we've always known Crawford was beautiful but seeing her like this only makes us love her more."

And women, like Martha Alanic, say they're able to identify with the unretouched photo of Crawford.

"She's human," Alanic told CBS2's Kristine Lazar. "It's more real than airbrushed."

"I can relate to that," she added. "She's human. It's more real than airbrushed."

Lisa Joyce, a mother, said: "It's really refreshing. I love seeing that my body is normal and it's nothing to be embarrassed of."

"Like, we're the same. You know, she's very beautiful and I've always seen her in probably touched up pictures," Maxine Dixon, another woman, said.

Meanwhile, Crawford hasn't commented yet on the leaked photograph.

Her husband, over the weekend, shared a picture of her via Instagram looking lean with no visible stretch marks.