So, I was randomly reading blogs and I peeped another shot from the Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen Vogue photo shoot and the first question I asked myself was: Why wasn’t this the cover instead of that other HORRID one? It also made me think of all the comments that you guys left when we first posted the cover last week. Here are a few comments that stood out to me..
mj:
Not feeling that Lebron pic AT ALL. Lebron is straight up perpetuating a stereotype (that of the brutal, wild savage) that helped enslave, lynch, and murder hundreds of THOUSANDS of our black men for centuries… and I’m just supposed to be content because he made it onto “massa’s” magazine?! Take that weak shit somewhere else.
This is 2008 y’all, get the hell outta the plantation. Despite whatever “pride” we may feel covering VOGUE, if it’s a negative image, it’s a negative image, period. We have to continue to demand respect and dignity. The more and more we let shit go, even if it’s small things, the more people feel it’s okay to be racist.
FLYGIRL:
I think too much is being made about the Lebron james cover and Giselle I mean Dang. Its a shape issue you cant see his shape in a suit. I mean ya’ll are really analyzing stuff to the 9th degree. I mean how many black guys have been on the cover of vogue. I like the cover I think its playing on his athletic ability for which he is an athlete.
cococola72284:
Ok so this “King Kong capturing the damsel in distress” on the cover of Vogue is offensive. Not only does this man look like an ape, but he’s got this good ole prize, a white woman on his arm. There are a number of black high fashion models they could’ve paired him with and other shots they could’ve used of him. At least put him in a suit. He carries a suit VERY well.
realistic:
Get a clue. If you can’t see things from a more artistic approach…well i guess most of the people here wouldn’t. The Vogue cover is suppose to be contrasting. You have the high fashion model(typical of Vogue) and then because it’s rare that male sports figures are in Vogue, they have Lebron coming in as if you grab a part of this issue with strong masculine aggression. ya know taking the direction off models for a minute. Which is why they didn’t have him in a suit like a model. I got it.
Coincidentally, the same photographer Anne Leibovitz took the photo of the Jennifer Hudson cover last year. Click here to view it.
American Vogue is a flipping joke. That cover they chose was the worst they could possibly choose, not to mention they did the same thing to Jennifer Hudson.
I agree with the posted comments about the “King Kong” aspect, a lot of people don’t know the story behind that movie anyway.
Since black celebs read this blog, remember this. If you ever get a call from Vogue never pose with your mouth open. They will get your ass.
I understood they were trying to do a contrast and show his shape and all but still I feel that cover is racist he really does look King Kong kidnapping a white woman I don’t think whoever chose the cover did it on purpose but still they could of had him in a suit on the cover and left that picture as one of the pictures in the article
vogue was really wrong for that cover….MJ has a good point
Ok I saw this on espn show PTI and I just don’t like the cover. They could have went with the other one. His mouth open like that and she’s all graceful, whatever. I just don’t like how they do African-Americans who happen to grace their covers is all. But I can’t hate on a young brotha making the cover….Vogue just could have went in a different direction is all
Damn theres more?!?!
All i can say is a picture can be interpreted in many different ways……. i’ll leave it at that.
Even Gisele looks better in that other pic…I just don’t even know why they hooked the two of them up together in the first place it just seems awkward, why not just put only Lebron on the cover? Oh well I’m not a subscriber and I don’t buy their mags, so it’s not a big deal to me.
well as I see every one has there own opinion on certain things.n there is no right or wrong about this pic.to be really wit the first thing that came to my mind was “why is he wit that white girl out all the black other athletes”.but people don’t think now days on wat people going to really think.n yea the first pic is not on point but the second kinda is.but this may start gossip like terrel Owens and the other white girl in that one chermercial they shot for football.but the point is nothing really matters no more on what people think its more like let’s go forward on what we want to do.
Vogue has a tendency to make African Americans look less attractive on many of their covers. I have a problem that because Lebron James is the 1st African American male and Athlete to make the cover in their…….116 YEARS history and they chose that tacky cover! That is nothing to jump for joy about my brothers and sisters.
Thank you CL, thank you Thank you!!!!
I think you very well answerd your own question, by sheding more light, and bringing a new perspective to the situation *Aaaaa-ha!!!!
Seeing this leaves No doubt in my mind of the Editor’s intentional desire to place that particular photo as the cover, moreover make it the ‘cover story’. What the desired effect was………Not only that, but you guys unintentionally illustrated(by putting some on blast, sorry Realistic), some’s desire to rationalize, and justify the undefensible, and sometimes the extremes some go to, to do so.
..This is very disturbing to me, because, I more likely than not see this trend among Blacks-it’s this notion of: ‘Black people always complaining, and crying foul, for no damn reason….’we too damn sensitive over every lilttle thing’! Not that I’m accussing anybody in particular, but in my opinion, these are most likely the same people to be ‘Bamboozooled(sp), ‘Hoodwinked’, or ‘Okey doked’…call me a conspiracy theorist, a rabblerousser(sp), or whatever, but the truth is in the pudding! That photo INSIDE the mag, would have been absolutely beautiful, and yet still have maintained its ‘artistic integrity’.
It’s like somemany have said:’If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything’!
Say it again chile lol.
something just doesn’t sit right with this cover. everything looks awkward. the majority of times they have placed a black person on a cover of Vogue, the pictures turn out terrible. remember Jennifer Hudson’s cover?
You really have to take a critical analytical approach to looking at art. For some reason this reminds me of the elections>>> Obama and Clinton. just a thought.
They could have easily had Naomi Campbell or another supermodel beside him so it doesn’t look so racist…or maybe a different pose. just a thought
think those quotes you chose are dead on.
Gisele doesn’t even look all that comfortable in the pics.
Lebron tries way too hard outside of basketball. He should take a q from the 90′s superstar b-ballers. They never appeared in photos, commercials, or tv shows that made them or the product look foolish.
I think he need to hire a real p.r./entertainment agent for such matters.
I like the second picture no doubt, it’s more subtle and gracious.
It’s crazy that Lebron is the 1st African American male and Athlete to make the cover in their…….116 YEARS history and they chose that tacky cover!
THAT J. HUD ONE LOOK DUMB! THAT AINT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS FAULT, JENNIFER JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO MODEL LMFAO! AND W/ THIS LEBRON ONE… WTF, ITS JUST A PICTURE. IF HE WAS ON THIS COVER ALONE, U WOULD THINK “OH, ITS SHOWING HIS ‘ATHLETIC ABILITY’ OR ‘LOVE FOR BASKETBALL’ , OBVIOUSLY. SO JUST SHUT UP W/ THAT PUTTIN BLACK PPL DOWN SHIT. SHUT UP. I THINK YALL THAT SAID THAT WANT TO BE SLAVES. LMFAO. STUPID.
Lebron looks like a damn gorilla and Gisele looks like a damn fool. Agree with the King Kong comment. Those vogue editors knew exactly what they were doing, I’m sure it wasn’t the first day on the job. The should have gone all the way and shot these pictures at the side of the empire state building.
The other photo…MUCH better. I agree they should of used that one too.
hahahahahhahah It’s just funny, seeing both pics… This is my thing…Either way, they’re playing him… the second would have been better (though the “white” woman literally on his shoulders might have drawn a bit of criticism as well. lol) BUT, I think they didn’t go with it as the cover because it looks more serious. And, that would have been Vogue, playing itself…they chose the other, with his mouth gaping and the basketball and apelike stance (lol) because the second looks far more ridiculous to fashion intelligentsia…it’s like they’re trying to mainstain some semblance of soul… A basketball player in uniform in some serious model pose with Giselle balanced meticulously atop him?? lol ???? To the insiders, it would have gone over way worse than putting the man on the cover in a way more informal shot, with his ball and stance…this way seems irreverent… But, they’re just playing him…using him to move copies and playing him to save face.
#15
Jennifer Hudson is a trained model… If you’ve seen her Avon ads, you’d see… They look VERY professional…
It’s good to know that Lebron made history being on the Vogue cover – BUT – for this momentous, history making ocassion, could they have had him in a suit or flexing his muscles with his basketball without the model? But thinking from a marketing point of view, having a black man on the cover alone would probably affect sales (because “the majority” are still very prejudice like we back in the 1800′s), so they threw a white woman on there to make it a controversial issue so that it would catch people’ s attention and sale through the roof. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
i’m lovin this shoot
All I have to say is this:
The covers were intended to highlight their bodies right?
So what does the actual cover highlight that the second picture doesn’t?
I can see her shape more clearly. His arms are better defined, and you can even view more of a calf muscle. All in the second picture.
Aside from that, on the cover she and the ball look like a prop.
And as a subscriber, they will be getting a letter.
remember vogue is still a high fashion pub, so they are always going to reach out to their target audience regardless of them breaking down barriers. it’s a little unsettling to see so many posts talking about apes and gorillas but i will hold my tongue as everyone is entitled to their own opinion i guess.
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IDK Y they chose this tacky cover! All the king kong stuff aside, the other picture is
just much better and looks more like a cover than the one they chose! Everybody
knows he’s a basketball player so they coulda saved the “cover” shot for the inside of
the magazine. Hell, he has on the same outfit ANYWAY (except for the stitching in
the shirt) and they let her change dresses. I just don’t get it! And looking back on
the J.Hud shoot, I coulda took those pics with my phone. She had already taken
wonderful pics for other magazines and u get to VOGUE (of all mags) and they had
her mouth hangin open in MORE than one pic.. Just WOW @ Vogue.. :smh:
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I agree. I do not care for the cover. I do see the artistic vision that perhaps this photographer could have been making. However, this is VOGUE not Sports Illustrated. Its about looking fabulous.
I feel like when it comes to the way blacks are displayed in the media, we cannot win. There is always going to be someone who is not satisfied. There are going to be Blacks who feel that we are always shown in a negative light or that only light skin or Uncle Tom Blacks are given play in the media.
The best way to solve all of this is to get more Blacks in behind the scene positions in the media.
As a future journalist–I am taking a lead and making it my business to display Blacks positively. That is all there is to it.
yeah i was mentioning to my homegirl the other day that the J.hud cover looked the same. it’s almost like they love to see black people with their mouth wide open, laughing as opposed to a more modelesque, serious look. are white people still afraid of black people? vogue did the same thing to the first black supermodel INSIDE (not on the cover) of vogue Donyale Luna in the 1950′s. They made her look innocent and happy as opposed to “fierce”. the same with Beverly Johnson. When BJ graced the cover of vogue as the first black woman in the august 1974 issue she was smiling, big too…like “hey look at me! see i’m a happy negro!”
Vogue would never be sensitive to any racial stereotyping because Anna Wintour is completely clueless. I’m sure they were falling all over themselves when the photos got back thinking they did something amazing. WAIT until they get the letters pouring in on this one….
Aside from the stereotypical athlete pose and the white woman/Mandingo thing….although technically Gisele Bundchen is a Brazilian woman….despite her smile she looks like she’s trying to escape…..
I’m sure he posed in those clothes to sell his athletic line, but a bad choice by his people even if they want to sell clothes. He could have showed off his beautiful athletic body in a variety of outfits…and I’m personally tired to basketball players always having to pose with a damn basketball! Sheesh…..is that tired or what? I realize a lot of them aren’t mainstream crossover stars, but I’d figure if you’re going to put a black man on a Vogue cover who’s that damn tall, folks will figure it out….
Kobe would have been a better choice, he’s more stylish anyway…..
At first, I thought people were blowing this whole thing out of proportion. However, now that I have learned that it was the same photographer who shot Jennifer Hudson’s picture for the cover of Vogue, I am a bit skeptical. This same photographer made J-Hud look like a monster, and now he Lebron looking like a monster on this cover as well… hmmmm.
I also agree that ppl are making way to much fuzz out of this.
Its just what it is, period.
honestly giselle looks horrible on the cover just like lebron does so why all the comments about how they made him look bad b/c he’s black. vogue US is slipping anyway. besides i think they did the whole black guy/white woman thing to copy french vogue (even though the black guy on french vogue was that guy who wears wigs and dresses but has a beard)
THEN PLEASE EXPLAIN THAT PICTURE. PLEASE.
I dont like this cover nor do i like the j hud cover. Its horrible and I agree 100% with CoCoCoLa.
Note:
( I also cant recall other vogue covers to take notice of how other black celebs’ covers look or what animalistic faces white celebrities have on their vougue covers.)
yall are putting to much thought and don’t know what your talking about at the same time as well you would think with so much thought it would make sense damn
While I can see where a lot of people are concerned with the Vogue cover.. has anyone thought how “racist” it is to assume that Lebron looks like KING KONG. Annie Liewbotiz obviously has become the photographer she is by causing a stir with her photoshoots..
#15 Bamboozooled Central!!
Consider This —
If the inside shot had been the cover, just how much attention do you think it would have gotten?
On this and many other blogs, the cover has proven to do exactly what they intended, bring attention and discussion abour Vogue magazine.
I am wondering how could Labron and his people approve this type of depiction. Has anyone noticed the PowerAid Bottles with Lebron’s face on em? Well, he is there with his tongue sticking out showing green die representing the fact that he drinks the sport beverage. This image has disturbed me, as well as the ones here because I do agree that it is feeding into a stereotype of black males. Also, it seems that with Lebron being clean cut and good hearted, they are trying to undermine his existence and stature by making him stoop to these type advertisements. Dude has plenty money so I just don’t understand why these type advertisements are being used and approved by him and his camp.
this is what black people choose to get upset over????
i thinkk theres 100 other worse things going on,,, but my bad its a celebrity blog,
I still you guys are making too much fuss over a mag cover. You guys can complain all you want but its done. It’s Vogue not Essence, Ebony or Jet. I seriously doubt if they care about your opinions anyway. Would you post the cover if a black person wasn’t on the cover? I mean there’s way too much analyzing going on? So that’s my opinion. If you hate then hate it. It is what it is.
I don’t know how I feel about this cover. This is a business so I am just trying to figure out what market strategy they were trying to accomplish. I don’t get it. This reminds me of the T.O., Nicollete Sheridan commercial with her looking like the little helpless white girl with this mandingo looking brother. Hmmm
38. Yeah, youre on a celebrity blog and there’s a comment section to this article so we coment on this issue, not the hundreds of other things going on. Media has ruined the image of Black folks, even we have a negative view of ourselves, so this is a big issue.
BLACK PEOPLE ALWAYS WANT TO PLAY THE RACE CARD OVER SOME BULLSHIT. GROW UP AND GET A DAMN CLUE. AINT EVER HAPPY WITH SHIT AND ALWAYS WANT TO COMPLAIN LIKE ITS ALL ABOUT YOU. BLACK NEED TO QUIT THAT SHIT ITS RIDICULOUS AND ALL OVER A MAGAZINE COVER THAT MOST LIKELY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WANT YOU GUYS WANT IT TO MEAN. LEBRON AND JENNIFER LIKE IT SO SHUT UP. DAMN I HATE WHEN PEOPLE ALWAYS MAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT RACE. MY CHECK LATE..ITS CAUSE IM BLACK LOL MY PHONE BILL DUE CAUSE MY ANCESTORS WERE SLAVES SMH LOL GET A CLUE PEOPLE
This is tactic used to diminish sales….then they can use it as an excuse not to have more afro-americans on the cover. How many times have we heard that ” when there is a ethnic person on the cover the issue has low sales.” Naybe this would not be an issue if they used a photographer who knew how to photograph afro-americans in a flattering way.
Tha shot is great..I love it.
Big ups to CL for spotlighting my comment! Glad there were no typos! LOL!!
Anywho, I still stand by what I said even though the 2nd pic is a lil bit easier to digest (it’s not as aggressive). I don’t understand the photographer’s artistic direction nor do I understand why Lebron would approve this as the cover (assuming he did approve the cover). And this photographer is well respected and normally does excellent shoots so she def lost me on this one!!
But like a few have said, the cover is bringing attention to Vogue which was probably their intention. And true you can’t see his “shape” in a suit, but that doesn’t negate the fact that they could’ve chosen a different pic for the cover and possibly even Naomi Campbell as his counterpart. Talk about shape!! Or they could’ve done without a sidekick at all. Bottom line: this came out ALL wrong!
I absolute HATE the cover!!!!!
* absolutely
Has anyone ever heard Gisele talk? If you haven’t, don’t. Save your ears the trouble. It’s like listening to nails scratching on a chalkboard.
oh god !!! black ppl calm the fuck down. How come we think every single thing is racist?? If we learn to love ourselves then we won’t have to jump to conclusions.
and besides, gisele is not white…she’s brazillian.
as for the cover, it’s just ugly and taky…he shouldnt have done that pose. He had full control over that one
Great woman. I like her
@42…..Looka here Ms. Mixed Ma,——Black people have fought and died for us to have alot of the rights we have today. So, if it looks as if we’re a little BENT OUTTA SHAPE, it’s because we want our people to be presented in the BEST light. Not mediocre, half-assed,reminding us of the shuck n jive shit, the “Yessir Boss, I is rite here,Boss. Not to mention us being beat to death when we forget who’s SUPERIOR. So be it, “Mixed feelings”, Mixed Blood”, or just plain ole “Mixed up!” WE… who know better have earned the right to expect, Bigger, Better and Best. Besides, it is one way to honour those who’ve paved the way. Got that?!!!
This criticism is NOT out of proportion. Image is very powerful people, it affects the subconscious tremendously. If you see a picture of a black person in an “ape like” pose…sooner or later your going to connect black people with….APES! This is what they have been doing for soo long. Dont get mad when we point it out! Look at what this kind of thing has done to the psyche of black people, not just in this country, but all over the world.
And, Gisellle is white, even though shes Brazillian
…yea im not feelin the pics either. no fault of lebrons or gisele, just the photographer and his “vision”
CLEVELAND ALLLLLL DAY
216
*or her
Lemme play devils advocate and say, when choosing cover, u def. wanna choose somethign that stands out. its gotta be an arresting image thst stpps people in their tracks. I think tha cover they used just that.
personally, i think it does give into stereotypes though
I have to agree the photos are not working at all. Get at me next time I will show you how to do this.
#38. THANK YOU.
Side Note: Giselle is not white.