Kamala Harris’ cover for the February issue of Vogue has caused a stir on social media as critics say the magazine disrespected the vice president-elect by ‘white-washing’ her skin and putting her in a pair of Converse.
The cover from the upcoming issue surfaced on Twitter over the weekend, showing Harris, America’s first vice president of color, wearing a black suit jacket, white tee shirt, dark cropped pants and black lace-up sneakers.
Dozens of fans came out to condemn the cover, saying the low-quality photo fell short of Vogue’s usual style standards and appeared to have lightened Harris’ skin.
The vice president-elect has not publicly commented on the cover, but journalist Yashar Ali claimed on Twitter early Sunday that her team had signed off on a different image with Harris in a light blue suit.
A few hours later Vogue published a photo of a second cover that appeared to match the one Ali said Harris had approved.
Kamala Harris’ cover for the February issue of Vogue has caused a stir on social media as critics say the magazine disrespected the vice president-elect by ‘white-washing’ her skin and putting her in a pair of Converse
Journalist Yashar Ali tweeted a photo of the offending cover on Sunday and claimed that Harris’ team had signed off on a different image than the one used
On Sunday morning Vogue published a photo of a second cover (pictured) with the same outfit Ali claimed Harris had approved
‘In the cover that they expected, Vice President-elect Harris was wearing a powder blue suit,’ Ali tweeted alongside the first cover.
‘That was the cover that the Vice President-elect’s team and the Vogue team, including [Editor-in-Chief] Anna Wintour, mutually agreed upon…which is standard for fashion magazines.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Harris and Vogue for comment.
When the cover first emerged several Twitter users questioned whether it was real, saying the quality of the photo and the styling seemed way too low for America’s leading fashion magazine.
‘Wait that Kamala Vogue cover is real?!’ one user questioned. ‘I thought it was fake —that’s how bad it is. Did they just ask her to send them photos her husband took or..?’
‘Vogue has Kamala Harris in some f**king Converse. Someone needs to throw a cinderblock at Anna Wintour,’ another wrote.
‘Kamala looks beautiful in whatever she wears- and I love that she’s brought Chucks back- but this Vogue cover is unworthy of the first woman, POC, Vice President of the United States,’ a third added.
Activist Charlotte Clymer tweeted: ‘Folks who don’t get why the Vogue cover of VP-elect Kamala Harris is bad are missing the point.
‘The pic itself isn’t terrible as a pic. It’s just far, far below the standards of Vogue. They didn’t put thought into it. Like homework finished the morning it’s due. Disrespectful.’
Dozens of fans came out to condemn the cover, saying the low-quality photo fell short of Vogue’s usual style standards and appeared to have lightened Harris’ skin. The VP-elect is pictured at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday
When the cover first emerged several Twitter users questioned whether it was real
Some critics slammed Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour for putting Harris in sneakers
Several users pointed out that the lighting washed out Harris’ skin
Author Wajahat Ali called the cover ‘a mess up’ and criticized its coloring
Activist Charlotte Clymer said the cover is ‘far, far below the standards of Vogue’
Others critics submitted photos that would have been better to use on the cover
Some users shared various photos of Harris that would have been better for the cover, while others noted that her skin appeared to have been lightened in the one that’s set to go to print.
‘What a mess up. Anna Wintour must really not have Black friends and colleagues,’ author Wajahat Ali wrote in response to Ali’s tweet.
‘Kamala Harris is about as light skinned as women of color come and Vogue still f**ked up her lighting. WTF is this washed out mess of a cover?’ another user, E. Vaughan, tweeted.
‘Vogue knows Kamala Harris loves her sorority, suits, comfortable pants and chuck taylors. So they just jumbled it all together for the cover. Except they couldn’t decide whether she is going to a luxe French salon, the Senate floor, or taking a jog.’
Several critics pointed out that this isn’t the first time Vogue has faced backlash over its handling of minority cover stars.
‘Anyone shocked by the poor quality of Kamala’s Vogue cover hasn’t paid attention to Anna Wintour’s bulls**t w/people of color. It spans decades. Team Kamala should’ve known better,’ a user named Trish wrote.
Some even called for Wintour to be fired.
‘Anna Wintour needs to go,’ a particularly frustrated critic wrote. ‘If the only time her team can properly style a black women is when she’s covered in couture then her tenure has ran it course.’
Several critics pointed out that this isn’t the first time Vogue has faced backlash over its handling of minority cover stars
Wintour came into the cross-hairs of America’s reckoning on race over the summer after she was accused of discriminating against employees because of the color of their skin.
The 71-year-old from London, who has been at the helm of Vogue for more than three decades, responded to the outrage by issuing an extraordinary mea culpa in June.
In a company-wide memo, Wintour admitted to allowing ‘hurtful and intolerant’ behavior at the magazine and conceded that she had not done enough to champion black staffers and designers.
‘I want to start by acknowledging your feelings and expressing my empathy towards what so many of you are going through: sadness, hurt, and anger too,’ Wintour began.
‘I want to say this especially to the Black members of our team — I can only imagine what these days have been like. But I also know that the hurt, and violence, and injustice we’re seeing and talking about have been around for a long time. Recognizing it and doing something about it is overdue.’
Anna Wintour came into the cross-hairs of America’s reckoning on race over the summer after she was accused of discriminating against employees because of the color of their skin
However Wintour’s letter did little to quell the controversy surrounding her decision to remain in her role – and in October, a group of 18 black journalists who have worked with her over the years accused her of favoring employees who are thin, white, and from elite backgrounds in a piece published by the New York Times.
Eleven of them called for her resignation following offensive incidents involving her use of the word ‘pickaninny’, and other cultural appropriation controversies, including outrage over a 2017 Vogue shoot that featured Karlie Kloss posing in a geisha outfit, with her face in pale makeup and her hair dyed black.
The photo shoot in Japan drew immediate accusations of ‘yellowface’, however Wintour reportedly shut down concerns from her staff, insisting that the pictures could not be cut because it would incur an ‘enormous expense’.
Wintour responded to the Times piece with another apology, writing: ‘I strongly believe that the most important thing any of us can do in our work is to provide opportunities for those who may not have had access to them.
‘Undoubtedly, I have made mistakes along the way, and if any mistakes were made at Vogue under my watch, they are mine to own and remedy and I am committed to doing the work.’
In December Wintour was promoted to become the first-ever chief executive of Condé Nast, in addition to her roles as Vogue Editor-in-Chief and Condé Nast artistic director.
Her new title, global chief content officer of Condé Nast and global editorial director of Vogue, gave her control over all of the publications 25 editions across the globe.
In a company-wide memo in June, Wintour admitted to allowing ‘hurtful and intolerant’ behavior at the magazine and conceded that she had not done enough to champion black staffers and designers