- - “Who Approved This?”: Margot Robbie’s Underwater Cover Shoot Brutally Roasted

Samridhi GoelJanuary 17, 2026 at 7:07 AM

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An 11-year-old photo of Margot Robbie has resurfaced online, and the internet isn’t being kind. The actress’s 2014 W Magazine cover shoot, captured entirely underwater, has gone viral with many users questioning how the image ever made it to print.

The photo featured Robbie submerged in water, staring directly into the camera with a blank, almost frozen expression.

Several commenters compared the image to America’s Next Top Model, with many fixating on The Wolf in the Wall Street star’s facial expression.

“At least they could’ve chosen a side profile for the cover,” one person wrote.

Margot Robbie’s resurfaced 2014 W Magazine cover shoot featured her as a mythical “siren”

Image credits: Ricky Vigil M / Justin E Palmer/GC Images

The shoot was part of W Magazine’s December/January art-and-fashion issue and was photographed by renowned video artist Bill Viola at his California studio.

Robbie was styled as a “siren”, slowly submerged in a water tank while wearing an embellished Donna Karan gown, reportedly worth around $10,000.

Before the shoot, the 35-year-old star admitted she practiced holding her breath at home.

Image credits: patrickmackieinsta

“They told me to practice in the bathtub,” she said at the time, estimating she could hold her breath for about a minute.

The photo shoot involved multiple takes and costume changes, requiring the actress to repeatedly go underwater while maintaining a calm expression.

Viola, who is known for using water as a symbol of life and d*ath in his work, praised Robbie’s presence during the shoot.

Image credits: patrickmackieinsta

“I see her as an alluring goddess who might delight or destroy,” he said.

At the time, the concept was framed as artistic and symbolic, but today, viewers seem far less convinced.

The internet claimed Tyra Banks would have “torn her to shreds”

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As soon as the images circulated online, social media quickly connected the shoot to America’s Next Top Model, particularly Tyra Banks’ strict standards for facial control.

Banks has famously drilled contestants on “smizing” and often criticized models for looking vacant or unengaged.

Additionally, the reality show’s Cycle 13 featured an underwater shoot in 2009, and many viewers felt Robbie’s expression wouldn’t have passed Banks’ comments.

Image credits: patrickmackieinsta

“Tyra would’ve been calling these chopped,” one commenter wrote.

“Tyra would’ve torn her to shreds,” another added.

“Margot, honey, you’re not in the running toward becoming America’s Next Top Model,” someone else joked.

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Others felt the shoot did Robbie no favors at all. “They did her DIRTY,” one user said, while another added, “You could’ve got Margot Robbie to do literally anything for a magazine cover and you chose this?”

Others shared their disbelief over the “dreadful” cover shoot and questioned if the images were even real

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Beyond criticism, several netizens shared their disbelief and questioned whether the photos were real.

“This is NOT real,” one person wrote, while another commented, “I thought this was an eliminated contestant from ANTM.”

One more added, “These are terrible, they should have just used AI.”

Many critics compared the photos to amateur snapshots, with one adding, “It literally looks like two friends hanging out in a pool and taking pics.”

Image credits: patrickmackieinsta

Not everyone roasted the shoot as a handful of users defended the actress, pointing out that underwater photography is notoriously difficult.

The criticism of decade-old photos overlooks where Robbie was in her career at the time.

Her shoot came shortly after The Wolf of Wall Street, before her rise to becoming one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars.

Since then, she has earned three Academy Award nominations for her portrayals in I, Tonya, Bombshell, and Barbie, along with five nominations and one win at the Golden Globes.

The renewed scrutiny followed a recent criticism over Margot Robbie’s casting and costume in the upcoming Wuthering Heights

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The renewed scrutiny comes shortly after Robbie faced backlash over leaked set photos from Emerald Fennell’s upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation.

As reported by Bored Panda, several fans questioned her casting as Catherine Earnshaw, citing her age and costume choices.

In the leaked photos, she was seen in a dramatic off-the-shoulder white gown with a voluminous skirt, which many viewers felt was not period-accurate.

Image credits: patrickmackieinsta

The movie follows a story told through flashbacks, with the “present” part taking place in the early 1800s and the retrospective elements of the plot taking place 30 years earlier.

The famous wedding scene takes place in 1783, when Robbie’s character, Catherine, would be approximately 18 years old. Given Robbie’s age, fans questioned the accuracy and attention to detail of the upcoming adaptation.

The backlash also extended to Jacob Elordi, who plays Heathcliff.

“First, they cast Margot Robbie, who’s clearly too old for the role, and now they’ve gone and cast a Heathcliff who looks like he belongs on Instagram,” one user wrote.

“Sorry, but this has to be a joke,” said one netizen

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”