Graydon Carter's March on Paris
Apr. 9 2008, Published 5:57 a.m. ET
Vanity Fair staffers, under the impression that they work for a high-minded publication, are steamed over editor Graydon Carter's reported choice of Paris Hilton for the September issue's cover, we hear. "Graydon is obsessed--obsessed--with her and has been dying to put her on the cover for a long time," says one Hollywood insider.
But top editors at the glossy--many of whom wanted Beyoncé for the coveted slot--feel Hilton isn't VF cover material, and certainly not worthy of a fawning 5,000-word profile. A source who has seen a mock-up of the Hilton cover complains that "it makes Vanity Fair look like FHM" (or, even--gulp--RadarOnline.com?).
"You can only print 'That's Hot' so many times," complains the source. Carter, who's besotted with the porn-star-turned-fast-food-pitchwoman, couldn't care less. "He invites her to the Oscar party every year and just nuzzles up to her," the source notes. "He doesn't care about Julia Roberts or Cameron Diaz--he thinks Paris is the fluffy epitome of what VF is all about. Graydon also loves the fact that she's a skank and isn't embarrassed about it." Write what you know!