That Offensive Vogue Cover Is on Stands for a Whole Month

Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET

PLAYING OFFENSE Vogue WWD takes four online pages today to make up for its absence from the Anna Wintour monkeypile and simultaneously pat itself on the back for being the first to alert the NAACP to a magazine called Vogue—and the fact that it put its first-ever black man on the cover, basketball player LeBron James. And, oh, James is flexed, mouth-agape and pawing at white model Gisele Bündchen. Shades of King Kong! Racism! NAACP spokesperson, go!

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"In some ways, it's obvious that Kong poster type image is there. But I think that this is almost a generational thing where some younger folks who don't have that exposure may not even know what the King Kong movies were, may not get that ... Someone wearing race-colored glasses might pick up on that as well. In some ways, it's obvious that Kong poster type image is there ... We haven't had phone calls. So I'm not sure how much of a debate there is. We are keyed in on much weightier issues."