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Is Kamala Harris' February Vogue cover real? Shabby photo sparks fury: ‘Anna Wintour does not respect Black women’

On the cover, Kamala Harris sports a black jacket and converse sneakers paired with white socks. In response, the Internet has called for Anna Wintour's arrest

Kamala Harris made a breakthrough after becoming the first woman vice-president and the first Black and Asian American too! Over a year ago, she wiggled her way to the top as the California Senator hoping to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency. At that time, she launched a potent attack on Joe Biden but he mended fences and put the 56-year-old on his ticket.

Together, the two won the election and now, Harris seems to be turning heads wherever she goes. The Democratic Party member was seemingly featured on the February cover of Vogue magazine and a leaked shabby-looking photo sparked much outrage online.

On the cover, Harris sports a black jacket and converse sneakers paired with white socks. Inside her collared jacket, she dons a white T-shirt and a couple of necklaces to complement her look. She rounded her attire with nude make-up and lip-shade. The cover read, “Madam Vice President! Kamala Harris and the new America", and a blurb read, "By the people, for the people, the United States of Fashion.”

The photo created quite a lot of controversy. One tweet read, “Anna Wintour needs to go. If the only time her team can properly style a Black woman is when she’s covered in couture then her tenure has run its course. Look at how Kamala Harris’ Elle cover straight up bodied Vogue.” Catch the cover photo and a comparison of the February Vogue cover and Elle Magazine cover here: 

Was the Vogue cover photo changed?

In no time, social media was buzzing with reactions and sources said this wasn't the cover originally planned. One tweet read, “How are you going to do that to the next Vice President of the whole a** country? Smh,” while another said, “I can’t believe Anna Wintour would do that. I mean her track isn’t amazing when it comes to diversity but I can’t see her taking on a new administration like this and setting up Vogue to be shut out right off the start.”

New York Magazine/Huffpost contributor Yashar Ali posted, “The February Vogue cover featuring VP-elect Kamala Harris has been widely criticized on social media this evening But according to a source familiar with the publication plans, this is not the cover that the Vice President-elect's team expected.”

Ali added, “In the cover that they expected, Vice President-elect Harris was wearing a powder blue suit. That was the cover that the Vice President-elect's team and the Vogue team, including Anna Wintour, mutually agreed upon...which is standard for fashion magazines.”

His tweet said, “To be clear, this Vogue cover of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is real. It's just that per a source familiar, this is not the cover that was mutually agreed upon. The agreed-upon cover had VP-elect Harris in a powder blue suit. So folks feel blindsided this evening..."

"It means that someone changed the cover without informing the Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' team after they mutually agreed upon a cover look. And there's only one person with that level of power: Anna Wintour.”

He also added, “There are a lot of former Vogue and Conde Nast employees who have told me they believe that Anna Wintour does not truly respect Black women and most of her editorial decisions around Black women certainly reflect that sentiment.”

Where is Anna Wintour now?

Leading the fashion magazine arena is Anna Wintour. Born in Hampstead, London, in 1949, she was raised by Charles Wintour, editor of the Evening Standard, and Eleanor "Nonie" Trego Baker, the daughter of a Harvard Law School professor. 

In her early years, she developed a passion for fashion and used to regularly read Cathy McGowan on 'Ready Steady Go!' In an interview, she said, “Growing up in London in the '60s, you'd have to have had Irving Penn's sack over your head not to know something extraordinary was happening in fashion.” 

Recently, she was named chief content officer for Condé Nast, worldwide. On December 18, 2020, it was announced that she will also now serve as global editorial director of Vogue while continuing her oversight of Vogue US.  With a net worth of an estimated $50 million and a paycheck of $4 million, she currently leads all these positions across both Vogue and Condé Nast:

Editor-in-Chief, Vogue
Artistic Director, Condé Nast
Global Chief Content Officer, Condé Nast
Global Editorial Director, Vogue

Why is Anna Wintour being slammed?

The cover photo of Vogue starring Kamala Harris has irked one too many on Twitter, many of whom are demanding Wintour be arrested and dubbed her “racist”.

“Trust that Anna Wintour is one of the biggest racists in publishing. Wintour doesn't even have the basic understanding of a photograph. Yet, her sh*t eye has dominated fashion for decades. She is a racist and always has been,” one tweet read.

Another said, “Took a minute but I’m ready — this cover is bad because this is a test shot. this was never meant to be a final image and while I’ll drag miss top cop at every opportunity, Anna Wintour deserves suffering for her treatment of black women.”

A user wrote, “Mind-blowing that anyone is still looking at American Vogue or expecting anything new from Anna Wintour. She’s not exactly riding the cusp of fashion, she hasn’t changed her hairstyle in 122 years.”

Another user added, “Kamala needs to lock up Anna Wintour first thing." One posted, "What a mess up. Anna Wintour must really not have Black friends and colleagues.”

Anna Wintour herself hasn't responded to the backlash yet and we are waiting for her statement to update this story. These tweets were put out by individuals on Twitter and we cannot independently verify the claims and accusations on the Internet. This is a developing story.