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A few months ago, photos of Keira Knightley topless appeared in Interview magazine.

And while most men around the world likely didn’t care much about the star’s motivation for removing her shirt, the Love Actually beauty tells The Times of London that she made this decision with a larger goal in mind than the male libido.

“I’ve had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it’s paparazzi photographers or for film posters,” Knightley explains.

Keira Knightley: A Snapshot
(Getty Images)

“And that [shoot] was one of the ones where I said: ‘OK, I’m fine doing the topless shot so long as you don’t make them any bigger or retouch.’ Because it does feel important to say it really doesn’t matter what shape you are.”

Echoing the sort of sentiment that would make Demi Lovato proud, Knightley continued.

 

“I think women’s bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame. It’s much easier to take a picture of somebody without a shape; it simply is. Whereas actually you need tremendous skill to be able get a woman’s shape and make it look like it does in life, which is always beautiful. “

Knightley speaks from experience on this topic. Her boobs were somewhat famously enlarged for posters of King Arthur back in 2004.

And while that may seem appealing to some women (and a lot of men!), Knightley wants to send the message that females should be happy just the way they are.

“Our society is so photographic now, it becomes more difficult to see all of those different varieties of shape,” she says.