20 most controversial magazine covers of all time

20 most controversial magazine covers of all time

  • Hitler as Man of the Year, Time, January 1939: Adolf Hitler was Time's man of the year and it was not a joke!

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  • Sarah Palin, Newsweek - November 2009- Palin was seriously offended and called the cover sexist when she was shown wearing nothing but a pair of running shorts, a sweater, her glasses and a smile.

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  • OJ Simpson, Time - June 1994- Time magazine was accused of putting a racist picture of this murder accused on its cover.

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  • God is dead, Time Magazine April 1966- It was based on an article in the magazine regarding the "death of god movement" that had sprung up in the 1960s.

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  • Darine Stern on Playboy, October 1971- For the first time ever Playboy featured an African American woman as its cover model.

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  • John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Rolling Stone: Love, sex or marketing gimmick, but it was not a very comfortable cover to look at even if John Lenon was being cozy with his wife.

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  • Devil Horns on Clinton, Time, Dec 21, 1998- During the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Bill Clinton was shown with horns on his head with cleverly placed letter M.

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  • Ellen's confession,Time, April 1997- Twenty years ago, it was not a very comfortable thing to reveal but Time's cover and exclusive story left no doubt in the minds of one and all  that Ellen Degeneres was gay.

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  • Demi Moore, Vanity Fair - August 1991 Demi Moore's nude photo when seven month pregnant was quite a jaw dropper!

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  • Naked Dixie Chicks-Entertainment Weekly, May 2003- It was the controvresial trio's way to shut up the critics who were hounding them after their song against the Iraq war and Bush.

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  • Britney Spears, Rolling Stone - March 1999- Dressed as a sexy schoolgirl, and singing "hit me baby one more time," a teenage Britney Spears seemed a bit too outrageous and vulgar to many!

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  • Lebron James as King Kong on Vogue, April 2008: NBA superstar Lebron James yelling while holding supermodel Gisele Bundchen was dismissed as racist.
    NBA superstar Lebron James yelling while holding supermodel Gisele Bündchen. - See more at: http://madamenoire.com/413710/turning-heads-sell-subscription-10-controversial-magazine-covers/9/#sthash.BedFiaSB.dpuf

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  • Kanye West as Christ, Rolling Stone - February 2006- Wearing a crown of thorns like Christ with a tagline "The Passion of Kanye West" was something that angered many.

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  • Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, Newsweek - July 2011 It was a futuristic cover with late Princess Diana in her 50s, walking besides daughter-in-law Kate Middleton.

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  • Noose, Golfweek - January 2008-Golfweek showcased a hanging noose on its cover to publicize their article about Golf Channel host Kelly Tilghman's use of the word "lynch" in reference to Tiger Woods. The editor was fired because of this racially provocative cover.

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  •  The Obamas, The New Yorker - July 2008- A satire on the Obamas in the election year, they were shown dressed as Islamic terrorists with a portrait of Osama Bin Laden in the background.

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  • Azealia Banks, smoking condom?- September 2012-This cover was banned in seven countries. A smoking woman with the look of an addict and a condom on her lips were reasons enough for an outrage.

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  • Breastfeeding Mom, Time - May 2012- It was bold, but queasy and uncomfortable.

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  • Monk on Time, June 2013-The Burmese government banned this issue about Buddhist monk Ashin Wirahtu, the self-styled "Burmese bin Laden" who has been accused by the magazine of fuelling religious violence in the country.

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  •  It can be described as marketing on the razor's edge and magazine companies are ready to take the risk. Sometimes playing with emotions, sometimes revealing too much, sometimes toying dangerously with religious and ethnic sentiments, magazines have resorted to means not always so fair, but they have managed to grab eyeballs and create sensations. Have a look at some of the most controversial magazine covers of the last few decades.

    'Boston Bomber', Rolling Stone - August 2013-It created a huge uproar for giving this ruthless killer a celebrity like treatment!

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