A recent photoshoot of US Vice President elect Kamala Harris has been slammed on the internet for "whitewashing" the images of the first Black and Asian Vice President of the United States. Harris is all set to feature on the cover of Vogue in February. On Sunday, the fashion magazine tweeted two pictures of her from the photoshoot, and she appeared 'light-skinned' than her actual skin tone, sparking controversy on social media.
One of the two images is a full-length image in a dark casual attire with sneakers, and another is with a mid-shot angle, in a powder blue suit. Vogue is allegedly being slammed for 'whitewashing' these photos of the first ever female, Black and Asian-American Vice President of the US.
“Can Anna Wintour explain why she chose what looks like a lighting test photo as the cover for the first female Vice President in US history? Kamala Harris is literally a movie-star gorgeous and I've never seen Vogue publish something this amateurish. It needs to be fixed,” one of Twitter users said.
Kamala Harris’ team also reported that this was not what was agreed upon by both sides prior to the photoshoot, as the agreement with the magazine was to feature the picture with powder blue suit on the cover and the switch was made by Vogue without informing her team.
In response, Vogue 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.”
Anna Wintour, the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, faced backlash by several people online, for 'whitewashing' Kamala Harris and especially when only last year, Wintour had written a letter taking full responsibility for Vogue’s insensitive portrayal of minorities in photographs and articles in the past.
However, an unnamed source at Vogue denied this to the New York Post. "Both looks were selected by the VP-elect and her team," the source said, adding that Ms Harris herself picked the green and pink background because those were the colours of her college sorority. "Vogue selected the image for the print cover that we felt captured her personality and authenticity," another source at Vogue said. "Obviously, we love both images and are celebrating both covers digitally."
