Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, is reacting after the magazine received backlash for its February cover photo of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Vogue’s editor-in-chief told The New York Times‘ Kara Swisher, “Obviously, we have heard and understood the reaction to the print cover, and I just want to reiterate that it was absolutely not our intention to in any way diminish the importance of the Vice President-elect’s incredible victory.”
She continued, “We want nothing but to celebrate Vice President-elect Harris’s amazing victory and the important moment this is in America’s history, and particularly for women of color, all over the world.”
Speaking on the Swisher’s “Sway” podcast, Wintour talked about the magazine’s cover photo, before one of the two cover photos was leaked.
Wintour talked about Harris’ cover photo, “The picture was taken by a wonderful young photographer, Tyler Mitchell, who had previously photographed Beyonce for us, and also a wildly successful December cover of Harry Styles. And he had the wonderful idea of putting her in front of the colors of her sorority, which are sort of like a pink and a green. And she’s standing in a black pantsuit, and a white t-shirt, and sneakers..”
She called the cover photo “so charming and so relaxed,” as well as “so surprising and so real.”
Vice President-elect @KamalaHarris is our February cover star!
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) January 10, 2021
Making history was the first step. Now Harris has an even more monumental task: to help heal a fractured America—and lead it out of crisis. Read the full profile: https://t.co/W5BQPTH7AU pic.twitter.com/OCFvVqTlOk
When the cover photo was leaked, many took to social media to react, some called it “disrespectful” and criticized the lighting and color that one person said is “correcting darker-than-white skin.”
Wintour said that there was no written formal agreement with choosing which photo would be the cover photo, but that the less formal portrait reflects the time that the U.S. is in with the coronavirus pandemic.
Harris’ team was reportedly expecting a different cover where the vice president-elect is seen in a blue suit in front of a gold backdrop. The incoming vice president styled herself for the photoshoot.