NEW YORK, 4:33 AM, MON JUL 7 | 0 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@jezebel.com | RSS
Posts Tagged “

annie leibovitz

maghag

Vogue's Not Racist; Three Black Models Prove It!

In the "Talking Back: Letters From Readers" section of the new issue of Vogue, there are two, yes two letters regarding the controversial LeBron James/Gisele Bündchen cover. We read them this weekend, and the folks over at The Fashion Bomb have already posted them. The first is from Christine Fox of Santa Ana, CA: "I'm an African-American women who sees nothing wrong with the April cover. I know there has been a lot of buzz about it, and folks are outraged, but it's ridiculous!" Her letter goes on to say: "It is just fashion, dahling." The other letter, From Stephanie Jackson in Brooklyn, states: "The April cover bothers me. More devastating than the perpetuation of stereotypes in mainstream culture is the dismissal of the counterargument as if it doesn't make sense. If controversial imagery rubs a minority group the wrong way, shouldn't the appropriate response be an apology?" More »

Loose Lips Miley Cyrus' dad, Billy Ray, called world-renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz a paparazzo after she "jumped out" and "snapped away" at him at a, uh, completely planned out, Billy Ray-sanctioned photoshoot? • Hulk Hogan broke down and got religious while talking about son Nick Hogan's car accident and arrest, saying it will make both his son and his son's friend (who is in a vegetative state) "better people." • Reconciliation watch: James Haven, Angelina Jolie's brother (you know, the one she smooched), went to the Lakers game with estranged father Jon Voight. [TMZ, Perez Hilton, & Perez Hilton]

the best of both worlds

Is Tween Titillation More Offensive Than Casual Racism?

First Miley Cyrus spoke out about her pictures for Vanity Fair, saying she was "embarrassed." The famed photographer Annie Leibovitz defended her shoot, saying I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted... The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little make-up, and I think it is very beautiful." Then, "sources" close to Miley's father Billy Ray Cyrus swore that Billy Ray left the shoot before the seemingly-topless pictures were taken and never would have allowed them. Next to chime in? Michael Roberts, the fashion and style director of Vanity Fair, who styled the shoot. "I'm European. I come from London, I lived in Paris, and I just find it extraordinary that this has been blown up like this," he tells WWD. "The whole kiddie porn prurient angle seems to be worryingly sour grapes from other magazines that didn't get a picture like this..." Oh, the "you're just jealous" argument. A classic! More »

the naked truth

Miley Cyrus Is Not The Innocent Victim That Disney Makes Her Out To Be

People are really freaking out about the Miley Cyrus "topless" Vanity Fair photographs. Disney is blaming photographer Annie Leibovitz., saying that she and VF created a situation "to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines." Vanity Fair is standing by the images, emphasizing that Cyrus's "parents and/or minders were on the set all day," and Leibovitz is calling the photos "very beautiful." Cyrus has issued a public apology over the photos, but I guess what bothers me about the situation is not that a 15-year-old has been sexualized, its that the scenario has taken away her agency entirely. More »

MagHag Mainstream media outlets have picked up on the controversial "LeBron Kong" Vogue cover. Magazine analyst Samir Husni believes the photo was deliberately provocative, adding that it "screams King Kong." (It's Kong's 75th anniversary, interestingly.) He notes: "When you have a cover that... brings those stereotypes to the front, black man wanting white woman, it's not innocent." In the Guardian, Michael Eboda asks: "Are the critics trying too hard to find something that is not there? Or when [photographer Annie] Leibovitz peeped at James through her viewfinder did she decide to reconstruct the stereotypes of the old movie poster?" (Meanwhile, a tipster sent in a piece of WWI propaganda that also invokes the Vogue cover, click the picture to see. ) [USA Today, Guardian]

dirt bag

Is Britney Single & Looking To Mingle?

  • Have Britney Spears and Adnan Ghalib broken up? Sam Lutfi claims she's requested a restraining order against Ghalib; Ghalib says he's heard no such thing. Guys, guys: Maybe you should just arm-wrestle or flip a coin? Sheesh. [People]
  • Meanwhile, Britney's working on "amazing" choreography for her song "Hot As Ice." [People]
  • And Brit will be on the cover of the March issue of Blender, because she hasn't had enough press lately. [Page Six]
  • Reports claim Gwyneth Paltrow's hospitalization was for a "gastrointestinal situation." Macrobiotic food poisoning, anyone? [Page Six]
  • Law & Order and Sex And The City star Chris Noth is a daddy! His girlfriend Tara Wilson has given birth to a baby boy, Orion Christopher. Hey, did you know she was black? Me neither. [People]
More »

rag trade

Donatella To Costume The Spice Girls. Our Lives = Complete.

  • The Spice Girls are reuniting, and Donatella Versace may be dressing them for the reunion tour. G-d works in mysterious ways, and Jennie may have just forgiven Him for the Holocaust... [AHN.com]
  • Prada sells Azzedine Alaia back to Azzedine Alaia. Which would sound all heartwarming and benevolent, if only it weren't a shrewd business decision. [WWD, sub req'd]
  • Stella McCartney will be debuting a lingerie line next year, offering a "high-end product with prices that are a little below La Perla." And by that they mean $71 for panties and $447 for chemises. If these represent reasonable prices, Nick Denton is definitely not paying us enough. [WWD, sub req'd]
  • Vanity Fair's September issue proffers its annual "Best Dressed" list, featuring a few members of the Conde payroll: Vanity Fair's fashion director Michael Roberts, contributing editor Lisa Eisner, and photographer-at-large Jonathan Becker, as well as Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Amy Astley, Vogue's style editor Alexandra Kotur, contributing editor Marina Rust Connor, and Anna Wintour spawn Bee Shaffer. That we are reading about this in an article penned by a few slightly, um, less-dressed members of the Conde payroll is not at all making us feel like we are seated at the nerd table in the cafeteria. [WWD, 1st item]
More »