Vogue magazine was involved in a “whitening” controversy on Sunday when it tweeted photos of its February cover star, Kamala Harris.
Two images of the US Vice President-elect were launched. One, a full-length photo in front of what appeared to be a shiny pink silk curtain, drew the ire of social media critics.
One user called “faded mess of a cover”.
“Kamala Harris has skin as light as black women and Vogue has spoiled its lighting,” wrote the observer.
Others criticized the editor-in-chief of Vogue.
“What a mess,” I wrote Wajahat Ali, New York Times contributor. “Anna Wintour really shouldn’t have black friends and colleagues. I will take photos of VP Kamala Harris for free using my Samsung and I am 100% confident that it will come out better than this Vogue cover. “
Last year, Wintour apologized to team members in a letter for “errors” in publishing photographs and articles deemed insensitive to minorities.
“Vogue has not found enough ways to elevate or make space for black editors, writers, photographers, designers and other creators,” wrote Wintour. “We also make mistakes when publishing images or stories that hurt or were intolerant. I want to take full responsibility for these mistakes. “
Vogue denied the New York Post that it lit Harris’s skin after the shoot, but the guarantee failed to stem the wave of disapproval.
“The photo itself is not as terrible as a photo. It’s way, way below Vogue standards. They didn’t think about it. Like homework done the next morning, ”LGBTQ activist Charlotte Clymer tweeted.
Vogue has not confirmed which of the two photos will use for the printed cover, or whether both will be published. Each image was taken by Tyler Mitchell, who was 23 years old when he gained prominence photographing Beyoncé for Vogue in 2018.
According to the Post, Harris and his team had control over their clothes, hair and makeup. She chose her own black casual jacket and pants and a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor boots for one photo and a light blue Michael Kors suit for the other.
Harris’s appearance on the cover of Vogue is expected to attract the attention of Donald Trump, who complained last month that his model wife, First Lady Melania Trump, had not appeared on a single magazine cover in his four years at the White House, having been despised by “elitist snobs” in the fashion industry.
Previous first lady Michelle Obama participated in several fashion photo sessions, including the cover of Vogue in December 2016.