Screen Shots

No, it is not offensive. End of story.

I find it easier to compare hot water with a plastic baby than I what I see with these two magazine covers.

he does kinda look like the Gorilla look close he can scratch his knees without bending over hahaha

The sad thing is this young man most likely knows this is offensive to whites and blacks and does not care. The photog knew this would play poorly into the nation's racial climate, but they don't care. Its a game to them. As long as HE is rich, he could care less about the stereotypes and confrontations other black males have to face with white girlfriends because they look like him.

ridiculous

Yes it is offensive but he should have been wise enough to know that this was degrading to african americans. I thought more of LeBron before this now I just dont know.

The only thing offensive is people thinking this cover is offensive.

and we wonder why Obama had to give the speech he gave?

don't like the cover and yes I think its offensive to men of color

White women are easy. Let's talk about that!

I love Melissa K. Prezzy

i like the cover. i think it screams i am a manly man and this is my woman. i like the rugged manly man.

LaBron is one of the most beautiful people on earth? What are they smoking at ABC?

I love the cover.Black people need to quit being offended at every little thing, it is really quite old.When there is something truly racist going on,h3ll,I'll march with ya'll.Untill then,Giselle doesn't look ofendd to me;)

Wow! There is nothing offensive about this photo! The two entertainers are just having fun and now some professor has to throw in the racial card! That's crap! I'm so tired of everything being racial in our society today!

I'm confused - is the article saying that King Kong was an african-american ape?? Are there caucasion apes, hispanic, asian etc.....This has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever read.

I don't think it is racial . It seems society reads way to much into something that was meant to be artistic. How this became a racial issue is beyond me but I guess everyone is entitled to there opinion however rediculous it maybe .

Why do people continually look for ways to find something offensive? I am so tired of people ripping every thing apart trying to find offense in it. If she were a damsel in distress she would not be smiling in that photo.

Sex sells. End of story.

Sex sells. End of story.

NO, NO AND NO. Seriously ABC you do seem to only want to generate controversies along 'hate' lines. ABC=FOX NEWS= HATE.

I think that it is ridiculous. I see a man at the top of his game, doing his thing. And a woman at the top of her game doing her thing. I think people are looking for problems where there are none. If they had done a glamour shot, someone else would have looked at it and found a reason to call it racist.

stupid.

here's someone else waving the race card. no wonder people have turned a blind eye to true issues of racial discrimination.

I'm sick of everything being turned into a racial debate. Get over it.

We need many, many more black and white celebrities couples to be seen in the movies and print to help desensitize reactions and opinions that are unnecessarily negative. The more we see this the easier it will be for the public to accept it.

Since Rosenfeld, a white man, must feel so good about himself being the defender all that is black.

LeBron is playing off the agressive athlete taking his woman. If anyone should be offended, it's athletes- black or white.

Give me a break! Do people have nothing better to do than to complain about this stuff? Attractive people pose for magazine covers all the time --it's POSED! Get it!

Give me a break! Do people have nothing better to do than to complain about this stuff? Attractive people pose for magazine covers all the time --it's POSED! Get it!

It's not offensive. I can't believe people see anything but two perople posing for a magazine. Ridiculous, move on.

It's not offensive. I can't believe people see anything but two perople posing for a magazine. Ridiculous, move on.

Get real, people need to stop being so sensitive when it comes to race. Cover is not offensive.

SOO NOT OFFENSIVE!! respect the photographers vision and the fact that the individuals featured approved of it, so obviously, in each of their eyes, there is nothing wrong or offensive about the picture.

WTF....am i supposed to identify an ape with a basketball player? I saw a strong athlete and a beautiful model end of story....as a black woman i must say i have more relevant things to get offended about. let's move on....

WTF....am i supposed to identify an ape with a basketball player? I saw a strong athlete and a beautiful model end of story....as a black woman i must say i have more relevant things to get offended about. let's move on....

what's the artistic point of this cover? anybody?

I see no problem with this picture! NONE AT ALL!!! People, open you eyes and quit picking apart every little thing!

As if Vogue magazine matters to a thinking person. Or the opinion of some starving artist from a college I never heard of.

Are you kidding me?... Is this really something worth the miniscule effort our brains have to put forth to contemplate this garbage?

No, not at all, please get a life to whomever brought this one up. What, if I eat a green grape vs. a purple grape is it going to show up on ABCNews as me being a racist in some way??????? Get a life folks

The only thing offensive about this is the fact a professor of art believes an APE is a depiction of a black man. That speaks to the true "race" issue posed here.

The only thing offensive about this is the fact a professor of art believes an APE is a depiction of a black man. That speaks to the true "race" issue posed here.

Maybe someday we'll live in a country where people don't go out of their way looking for a reason to be offended.

I am an African American woman and I find NOTHING racist about this!! I see a player imitating his game face and a model posing. -End of story. There would have been no comparison to an Ape if it had not been for this "professor" of "Art". Let's be real here, if you are going to attempt to speak out on the behalf of African Americans, speak up on issues such as those displaced from Hurricane Katrina and still homeless though millions of $$ were raised on their behalf, talk about those killed due to excessive un-necessary police brutality, the young woman raped and tortured by the white family a few months back, etc. Speak on the true issues and not those you pull out your behind!!

I am an African American woman and I find NOTHING racist about this!! I see a player imitating his game face and a model posing. -End of story. There would have been no comparison to an Ape if it had not been for this "professor" of "Art". Let's be real here, if you are going to attempt to speak out on the behalf of African Americans, speak up on issues such as those displaced from Hurricane Katrina and still homeless though millions of $$ were raised on their behalf, talk about those killed due to excessive un-necessary police brutality, the young woman raped and tortured by the white family a few months back, etc. Speak on the true issues and not those you pull out your behind!!

The point is not that the race card is being played by me, a white professor of art history. And it is not that I think there is a particular way that blacks should be represented in the popular media, but that the accomplished and erudite portrait photographer Annie Leibowitz is channeling a tradition of racially charged imagery wherein blacks are equated with simians and women are shown as powerless victims. This dates back to 19th century imagery such as the remarkably similar sculpture by the French animal sculptor Fremiet:
http://www.wfu.edu/~woodaljn/ant260/gorilla.jpg
At that time, this work participated in the culture of white colonialism by Western cultures, and was then later adapted, on a colossal scale, by the makers of the original "King Kong" in the 1930s.
To portray Mr. James in this light is depressing because it does not subvert such images, it does not present a plausible counter-image to destroy the stereotype. By contrast, Ms. Leibowitz's controversial image of a naked and preganant Demi Moore ("Vanity Fair," 1991), worked to explode female stereotypes and to present a richly empowered, proud, beautiful and novel conception of a woman. It played off of Ms. Moore's evolving power in Hollywood and her demonstrative nature. In short, it advanced the feminist conversation from which it emerged. Has Mr. James been so well served?
The present image of Mr. James and Ms. Bundchen, whether or not they purportedly had great fun at the photo shoot (and other images of the two seem to say they did, and would have made for an enlightened cover), welcomes and embraces these sad associations of power relations and racial stereotypes. But it does not challenge them. Why is this an issue? In the specific sports culture of basketball, where august personalities such as the announcer Billy Packer has found himself in hot water, and nearly lost his job, for referring to future NBA superstar Allen Iverson, supposedly affectionately, as a "tough little monkey," such things demand notice. There is history here.
Images have power. Controversial images sell magazines. Vogue has every right to print this cover. Mr. James has every right to see himself portrayed as he wants in popular representations. Ms. Bundchen is free to play the gleeful, "sturdy," innocent in his arms. But to see the precursors for such images, and to understand their fraught history, and to be aware of the travails of blacks in Mr. James's profession (and their recent and comprehensive successes) is not to play the race card, but it is to allow us to understand where we are as a culture and how we have come to this point. It is about advancing the conversation.

OMG so a magazine that targets white middle class folks does not have many black people on the cover, no kidding. I am sure that magazines targeting black folks probably have more black people on the cover than white...........I am white and find no offense with either!!!We can have different likes and dislikes as races as long as we respect each other, who cares about this BS????There is plenty of racism on both sides, we do not have to invent situation to sell magazines!!!
There is plenty of racism on both sides, we do not have to invent situation to sell magazines!!!

Mr. Rosenfeld - with all due respect, sir, you really need to find something better to do with your time.

The cover is NOT offensive. What is offensive is the PC police that want to make everything a racial issue even when there is no justification in doing so. These "Uber-Sensitive" morons probably think they are doing the right thing but by conjuring up racist overtones out of thin air, they are actually doing more harm than good.

Mr. Rosenfeld - with all due respect, sir, you really need to find something better to do with your time.

you've got to be kidding!!! Geez!! People I'm a beautiful white woman and this is ridiculous...I wish he was holding me like that...WooHoo!! Leave the good looking man alone!

You know some people have nothing better to do than criticize something like this. It is not offensive, read the topic of the magazine!! TOP ATHELETE - TOP MODEL!!!!

You know some people have nothing better to do than criticize something like this. It is not offensive, read the topic of the magazine!! TOP ATHELETE - TOP MODEL!!!!

This is at least a very suspect representation of a black man and white woman, especially in the context of a Vogue cover.

But why is race the primary issue? How about the rampant sexism that is portrayed here and in every issue of Vogue? It seems odd to focus on racism to the exclusion of sexism, especially when both are so obviously cogent.

Sorry, I don't see the racial aspect of it. Maybe if Gisele had a black eye or something....
I think there are those out there that are looking to be insulted and anything they see can be misconstrued as a racial ordeal. This is not news, it's complete B.S.

I don't know of any person who looks like King Kong though there are many who ACT like the oversized character.
and I agree with EMO: what's wrong with you ABC News!!

Is this all we have to do is let the media make something out of nothing as usual? It seems like lately the racism issue is compounded by media making more out of things that just aren't there. Can't you just look at a magazine cover/picture and enjoy it without reading anything into it? Give us a break.

I think the only ones being offended are white men.

There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with this photo. Lebron James is 6'8, Giselle is 5'7 if that, the photo would look disproportionate if Lebron didn't bend over. The only thing wrong with this is the negative attention it is getting. It's a photo with, not black and white, but two beautiful people on a magazine cover. For those who are making it a racial issue, get a life.

Seriously people...are you kidding. You are looking for somehting that isn't even there! Give me a freaking break. No, I don't think it is racist or offensive at all.

What is offensive is the big fuss people are making of it.

Seriously people...are you kidding. You are looking for somehting that isn't even there! Give me a freaking break. No, I don't think it is racist or offensive at all.

What is offensive is the big fuss people are making of it.

This is a stretch on racism. We are the United States of the Offended.

will america grow up? why must someone see a race this in everything. is a magazine cover. thats it!

I do not find this photo offensive, even if it is an homage to earlier art pieces (king kong, etc). If we can accept something like a king-kong poster as pop art, why can we not pay tribute to it through modern photography. I think it's a beautiful photograph. The only reason it would be offensive, someone might think it plays into a negative stereotype (large black man = dangerous ape???) If this is your mentality then YOU have a problem. People need to turn down their sensitivity to things. This guy is showing off his ferocity (i'd argue that part of his job is to intimidate opponents), and the lady is showing off her beauty (her entire job is her appearance).

will america grow up? why must someone see a race thing in everything. is a magazine cover. thats it!

But yet you would never see the situation reversed. A white man in this stance and the woman being black!

Why is this a top story? The only racism that seems to exist anymore is the 'junk' the media creates. Don't put enough black people on the cover of a magazine and your a racist, put a black person on a cover of magazine and your a racist. You can't win in. And at the end of the day white people will once again be blamed for everything……..

For cryin' out loud...can we just get over it...makes me sick that people just keep dredging up the same ol' stuff! NOT RACIST AT ALL! I think they look beautiful...

The devilish race of Pinks AKA white will be humans only when defeated and enslaved. until then they will be crazy and evil.

So what the writer is saying is "Monkey See - Monkey Do", what a bunch of crap! Just anoth race baiter who can't let it all just die a peaceful death cause w/o controversy, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson might have to get a real job and Obama could concentrate on policy and politics and not backstep 50 years to discuss race to please the liberal media who have nothing more to write about because they are seeking ways to eventually ( as they always do ) turn the election into a Black vs White thing instead of Leadership/Experience of someone like John McCain vs Obama or Hillary Clinton.

I'm a white woman and I can see why people would be offended by this picture. I see the symbolism being conveyed in the photo. Vogue should be ashamed.

This is not offensive. Anything racial or offensive is in your heads. Please get over it. Please stop whining. Please take responsibility for your faults. Please get a freaking clue. It's 2008. The only places where racial issues live on are in the deep southern states and really why would black people care what white-trash rednecks think of them anyway? Seriously.

why does this even have to bea racial issue.
i guess that guy wants his name in the news. i am so tired of pc and everthing that goes with it. why cant people juyst accept this for wahat it is. a nice magazine cover with a man & women. who cares what their race is. get over it people

The cover is offensive, but it is also discouraging, especially when I read that most of you don't think so. The cover tells me that so much of the racism that still exists is so subconscious/denied/unrealized by those who perpetrate it. Some of you say you're so sick of black people being easily offended, but what you don't realize is that when situations that involve different degrees of discrimination have happened consistently in the life of an average black person...one can't help but build up a sensitivity to this sort of thing. Anyone would. I'm black, and i talk to my white friends about this. I tell them that, in certain situations, my radar goes up for anythiing potentially discriminatory, and sadly enough, my intuition has been right much of the time. I could site so many examples...just not enough time.

I love it when people say things in their posts like, "End of story" and "Here's my opinion. Period." Is there any clearer indication that we have a problem in this country talking about race? Why can't this be an exchange of ideas rather than an I'm-right-you're-wrong war or words? As the writer pointed out and as evidenced in this thread, it is offensive to some, not offensive to others...thus "the Great American Race DEBATE." I am a Black female and I am offended. I am disappointed in LeBron but not surprised...he's young. That does not however, let him off the hook -- control your image in the media, man! Wake up! And don't tell me that because I am bothered by the cover that I am searching for something that isn't there. You can't possibly know this feels like if you are not Black. I can't tell you how many of my friends emailed me this cover last night. I think the issue here is the same as it always is when magazines publish racially charged covers: Why didn't this debate take place before the magazine went to press? I work in the industry and I can guarantee that no one talked about it, because there is a dearth of people of color in magazine publishing. There are likely very few editors of color on Vogue's staff. And almost certainly no people of color in the photography and design departments. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong.) The excuse is always the same: "We can't find any talented people of color." If there were diverse hires on the staff, they could have had this discussion in the office and saved themselves some embarrassment ("does anyone here think a noose on the cover is a bad idea? No? Let's do it!") or at least prepared a better response. "It's "fun" and "expressive"?? Are you kidding me, Mr. Well-paid Spokesperson?

Mr. Rosenfeld, no disrespect - but are you kidding me? There is nothing offensive abou this photo. What I find offensive is this article trying to make a problem where there shouldn't be a problem and continuing to fuel the racial fire. THAT's where I have a problem. Art is supposed to be interpreted by the individual as they see fit. I don't need YOU tellin ME that this was racially motivated. You can interpret it however you like, but to have an entire article dedicated to it on ABC News is ridiculous.

To see something racist or offensive in that magazine cover, you would have to be LOOKING for those things in the first place. Just looks like a "beauty and the beast" shot to me. They could easily have used a huge white guy and a beautiful black woman to make the same shot...or black/asian or white/white or black/black or any combination you can think of. Can we PLEASE take some steps forward now?

This ARTICLE is offensive. Mr. Rosenfeld, do YOU realize You are comparing Lebron James to a gorilla because he's black?

Offensive....no, it's a picture.

I HATE THE MEDIA
Don't blame it on the system; blame it on your moral actions.
My whole point is that race, I don't believe is an issue, but FEAR is. Of course poor white people will be afraid if they think they'll be disenfranchised by a President of any color or ethnic group, if you have no education, how do you know that there's is yet opportunity and not complacency? With education comes intelligence and wealth (not just monetarily) and with all of those virtues you become astonishingly less Fearful............ (point) This is where institutional preconceptions and misconceptions come into play, and will not be erased until the baby boomer generation's negative influences on their juniors are slowly dwindled away by their passing and humility to age. Keep in mind that people of tomorrow are part of generation X and generation Y, We, yes I said we, will be the leaders of tomorrow, most of us will have to take care of someone in 8 years from now DOES AMERICA THINK ABOUT THAT!, we all have beloved elders. This country is ready to MOVE on from the past, please believe that in your heart and not spew hate, through institutions.

Look at what Obama represents: youth 46, mixed heritage, (of the two dominate racial institutions of America). He's a like a broad, and at home. Highly educated and yes he is still honest and likable. How can we say he has no experience, he's won 13 million votes! This is history being written in front of us, right in our faces. The human mind can barely think up to 100. (Try it, try it right now, think of a sea of 100 people and change to a hundred thousand people, now count them and remember your count.... impossible) He already inhabits one of the most highly "elected" official offices in the world. He's a United States Senator, that's something we should all be proud of as he and many others represent our country in congress; I mean, if you have any patriotism. Can you, become senator or president some day, would you be able to write the task? This is extremely difficult for any candidate right now considering the current way of the world. Would you be able to run a campaign? There's obvious experience DUH! you don't get on the winning team unless you've practiced. They've all practiced, Hillary, John, Barack...that's why they are where they are now.....They all have "experience" they all have closets and skeletons, none would have made it thus far being malignantly corrupt, well I could think of one person but....

Anyway I hope the young people think about this and get out and vote, a lot of us in generation Y and the upcoming IPod generation really harbor no institutions, and will embark on our late 20’s and early 30’s in the next 8 years… (baby boomer….. y.o.b ….40-60, gen_ x 55-80, gen_ y 79-91, ipod_gen 90-00+)

A black person does not hate Hillary, if you were black you would understand, as vague and ambiguous as that sounds, but it’s the truth. The media can try to tell us how white voters think or how black voters think, most who cast their opinions about, how one race group thinks opposed to the other is –media wise- normally older and White and primarily has no relation to speak on such things. Way more research on both ethnic groups would provide answers. A black person didn’t leak “is he black enough”; white media insiders did, because he’s not old like Al or Jesse. Any person of color, can see he’s certainly not fuscia? The media has honestly made a joke of this whole nomination, laughing at Hillary and Barack and John. Can America see past the media, PLEASE!!!!

Why do you think MI and FL were moved up? Hmmm to give Hillary the nom immediately. If you’ve been following this since Dec. 06 you’d know what I’m talking about, there’ve already been backroom deals way before Sup Tues, almost a year before Sup. Tues, DUH! they knew, moving huge states up, like even California would seemingly ensure a “win” for Clinton. Dems ***ckd up. Didn’t work. Now everybody see’s Barack, everybody gets to know him…., I believe had California, MI and FL stayed in their respective places, he’d have way more delegates to boot this hoe out of the dirt and weeds. You cannot count FLA and MICH, not right now at least, his name wasn’t on the MI ballot and neither of them rallied or campaigned in either state, to give the voters their just opportunity to meet, greet and decide. Those states contests would have to be done over, and the FED government should pay, for their states weak decisions. Both need new primaries in May to not disenfranchise voters. And a huge part of the American electorate.

Hillary is not likeable, she is a great candidate and “can” do the job but will not win the support of the nation as a whole and democrats and anyone with a subtle mind know that. Barack Obama bridges the gap and gets us to thinking…and wanting to get informed.
I must say he must do more in the coming weeks, to show his adoration of this country and his supporters. He must also become way more convincing to the United States and the world that he is tough enough. He must now become offensive to get people to thinking, more detail, more fight, more strength is what we all need to see in this candidate to make him win the support of the majority of the democratic party.

It is not offensive! I am so sick of this crap, why does every single thing that go on in this world, the foundation of it has to be race. Yes, racism still exists, but to portray everything as race issue, real race issues are being neglected. But I sure would not mind having those guns wrapped around me!

I thought she was Tom's girl?

It's the media's job to place ideas or assumptions such as this in people's head.

Absolutely Ridiculous. It looks like a man holding a woman to me. This racist crap has gone to far!!! Lighten up people it's Vogue not the Times.

Don't show a black person on the cover and your a racist.... show a black person on the cover and your a racist.....what do these people want? I have an idea... why not show him standing up straight in cap and gown holding his college diploma! oh... never mind.

Good grief, people in this country need to grow up and get over seeing every single thing as racist. When that happens, and people can just laugh again, there will be no more racism and maybe we'll recover as a country.

And you people wounder why Obama's Rev preaches the way he does.

Ler's all remember who brought up the charge of this picture being offensive and racial!!! It was not a black person!!!!!!

this is suppose to