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Beyonce has been in scores of edgy, fashion-forward photo and recording shoots -- but whatever critics are scratching their heads over a spread in the March supply of land fashion publication L'Officiel Paris.

In honor of the mag's 90th anniversary, and in tribute to African performer Fela Kuti, the singer, 29, appears in "blackface" cosmetics and tribal cosmetics and accumulation designed by her mom, Tina Knowles.

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In a statement (via website Jezebel), the magazine said that the superstar' s surprising countenance was "far from the exciting Sasha Fierce" and explained that it was "a convey to her African roots, as you can wager on the picture, on which her grappling was voluntarily darkened."

But the "Halo" vocaliser didn't exactly intend coupler praise for the shoot.

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Sniped Charing comedienne of the Atlanta Post: "Blackface is not fashion forward or edgy and, in my opinion, it is just flat-out offensive."

Echoed Jezebel's Dodai Stewart, "It's fun to play with fashion and makeup, and fashion has a history of encouragement and pushing boundaries. But when you makeup your grappling darker in visit to countenance more 'African,' aren't you reducing an whole continent, flooded of different nations, tribes, cultures and histories, into one brown color?"

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Tell Us: Do you encounter the pic objectionable?

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