Janet Jackson’s provocative Rolling Stone cover
When a magazine cover is so shocking it begins to make its own headlines - that’s when it ends up here – as one of the most controversial magazine covers ever. Here is a look at 15 covers which were deemed outrageous at the time of publishing: from Demi Moore’s famous flaunting of her baby bump, to Kanye West dressed up in a crown of thorns for Rolling Stone.
Obama supporters weren’t too happy with this cover, released during the 2008 US election
Plus-sized singer Beth Ditto shocked by stripping off for NME
National Lampoon’s famous dog cover: this was before Photoshop was in use!
Kanye West’s strange portrait of Jesus had religious fans of the magazine complaining
This cover shot had Michael Jackson fans outraged, showing the singer as fragile just before his tragic death
Sarah Michelle Gellar’s arm was badly Photoshopped by Seventeen using a stock image: they sent her a leather purse to say sorry, to which she responded ‘ I don’t wear leather’
This cover of Vogue was seen as a racist portrayal of “King Kong” but was meant as a celebration of fitness
This portrait of Muhammad Ali was created after he refused to join the US military due to his religious beliefs
This bold cover was used for a special edition of Time, which featured testimonies from 911 survivors, and a salute to those who died
Demi Moore‘s naked pregnancy photo was the first of it’s kind
This photo of John Lennon was captured by photographer Annie Leibovitz hours before he was killed
This cover has been named the most controversial ever: it’s easy to see why..
This cover saw a pair of woman’s legs being violently minced: the graphic image made the message behind this clear
Not everyone found this cover image of Camels getting hot’n'heavy hilarious
Leave a Comment