Vogue Magazine Explains Kamala Harris' Controversial Cover

Source: Joe Raedle / Getty

Vogue magazine knows you’re none too pleased with their Kamala Harris cover and someone close to the mag is issuing a response.

As previously reported the prestigious publication caught flack for a less than glamorous cover of a Converse-wearing Vice President-elect standing in front of a pink and green backdrop. Madam VP also rocked a simple Donald Deal jacket and black jeans for the Tyler Mitchell taken photo.

A second cover was also released of Kamala rocking a chic powder-blue suit, but that cover will only be released digitally while the pink and green cover has already gone to print.

Rumors swirled that Madam VP-elect was “blindsided” by the publication’s decision to run the pink cover but according to The New York Post, that’s untrue.

Vogue sources told them that the veep-elect insisted against Vogue styling her, with Harris’ clothes, hair, and makeup decided by her camp, sources said and they claim that “both looks were selected by the VP-elect and her team.”

The source also denied that Vogue “lightened Kamala’s skin”, a claim that started circulating online amid the controversy.

“Harris also picked the green and pink backdrop of the print-edition shot because those are the colors of her college sorority — and she thought it would be fun to use them, a source said.

“Our approach to working with Vice President-elect Harris and her team was to capture her as a leader and as a person, and as she was most comfortable, and so we collaborated closely on all creative decisions, including that she would dress and style herself for the shoot,” a Vogue source said.

Ultimately, the magazine decided which image to use for print and digital, the source insisted to The New York Post and the one they chose felt more “authentic” and that “captured her personality.”

“Vogue selected the image for the print cover that we felt captured her personality and authenticity,” the source said. “Obviously, we love both images and are celebrating both covers digitally.”

The Associated Press received a statement from Vogue which said it went with the more informal image of Harris for the cover because the photo captured her “authentic, approachable nature, which we feel is one of the hallmarks of the Biden-Harris administration.”

But the magazine said it released both images as digital magazine covers to “respond to the seriousness of this moment in history, and the role she has to play leading our country forward.”

With all of this in mind, what are your thoughts about Vogue’s Kamala Harris cover? Do you think it captures her personality?