Kamala Harris is facing online ridicule after her recent Vogue digital cover for the October issue sparked criticism for what some claim is heavy airbrushing. Released ahead of the November elections, the cover initially seemed poised to show Harris in a positive light, but critics quickly focused on her allegedly altered appearance. Some users commented on her seemingly flawless face, accusing Vogue of over-editing. @GoldshteynYulia noted, “Of course, it’s photoshopped. Even made her more black,” while @KingsleyCortes pointed out, “The airbrushing on Kamala’s Vogue cover is HEAVY.”
A number of Harris’ supporters, however, were quick to defend her. One Twitter user, @MitchellAdams90, fired back at critics by comparing Harris to Donald Trump, claiming, “Donald Trump literally has his face painted orange, and his hair dyed. Please sit down and shut up. Plus since you aren’t aware, it’s a magazine. That’s literally what they do with all their covers.”
The magazine’s accompanying caption described Harris’ sudden elevation to presidential candidate after President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 race. Vogue lauded Harris for stepping into the spotlight, saying, “Only rarely are individuals summoned overnight for acts of national rescue… Harris was expected to do something unprecedented in American history: to mount, and win, a presidential race in three months.”
No filter pic.twitter.com/K7OEQJIwmG
— Born Deplorable ~ call me Doug (@dougmartin429) October 11, 2024
Despite the glowing words, many social media users continued to mock the visual representation. @ADillon73 sarcastically remarked, “They cleaned up the turkey neck real good,” while @2againsttyranny critiqued the proportions of her image, saying, “Her head is TINY, her hands are HUGE… they are a national magazine, they have all the photoshop in the world, and they release this????”
Harris was also criticized for doing the shoot in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. @OwenGregorian slammed her for focusing on a photoshoot while Americans were grappling with the devastation, stating, “This tells you everything you need to know about the Democratic ‘nominee.'”
In response to the backlash, Vogue released a statement defending the cover, saying, “The team at Vogue loved the images Tyler Mitchell shot and felt the more informal image captured Vice President-elect Harris’s authentic, approachable nature — which we feel is one of the hallmarks of the Biden/Harris administration.”
While her cover has sparked a wave of criticism, Harris remains a central figure in the 2024 presidential race, with her supporters standing by her amidst the increasing scrutiny.
