Vogue has caused a stir in the US for failing to hire a black photographer to shoot the cover of its latest edition.
The August issue of Vogue features Olympic gymnast Simone Biles on the cover, who speaks to the publication about the recent Black Lives Matter protests, body image and the postponement of this year’s Tokyo Olympics.
The photos of Biles were taken by acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz.
However, The New York Times picture editor Morrigan McCarthy has led the criticism of the photos.
“I adore Simone Biles and am thrilled she’s on this cover… but I hate these photos. I hate the toning, I hate how predictable they are, I hate the social crop here (wtf?) and I super hate that Vogue couldn’t be bothered to hire a Black photographer,” McCarthy said on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/MorriganMcC/status/1281323606270717952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1281323606270717952%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-4203642844091752662.ampproject.net%2F2006112352003%2Fframe.html
The criticism continued on social media.
Simone Biles deserved better than Annie Leibovitz bad lighting. pic.twitter.com/I7SvmCmKJP
— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) July 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/pollyirungu/status/1281281807795789824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1281281807795789824%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-4203642844091752662.ampproject.net%2F2006112352003%2Fframe.html
It’s not the first time a Vogue cover shot by Annie Leibovitz has caused controversy.
In 2008 the photographer shot a cover featuring basketball player LeBron James and model Gisele Bündchen which appeared to resemble a King Kong poster as part of the magazine’s annual Shape Issue (see below).
