A Danish fashion magazine is copping enormous backlash after running photos of a grossly underweight model in its latest edition.
#Covergate is the new hashtag brought to life by protesters, after Danish fashion publication “Cover Magazine” ran images of a grossly underweight model in its latest issue.
“Corpse or model?” is the Reddit thread that has gone viral, with the photo of the emaciated subject.
Even a Danish politician took to Twitter to express his dismay.
“I seriously thought that the fashion industry had understood that anorexia is a problem that should be taken seriously,” Tax Minister Benny Englebrecht wrote.
“Cover Magazine” has been forced to issue a public apology, after the viral backlash.
“I have not lived up to my responsibility as a publisher, woman and mother and am truly sorry. At Cover we have, in all the years, worked to show an expanded beauty ideal,” the magazine’s founder Malene Malling wrote on “Cover”‘s Facebook page.
“[To] show that you can be beautiful in various ages and various sizes. We have always sought to work with healthy girls. Just two months ago we had plus-size model Diana Graham on the front of the Cover, so it is certainly a subject we focus on.”
The fashion industry has a long history of criticism for the use of underweight models in magazines and runway shows.
Back in 2010, French model Isabelle Caro famously posed for an Italian ad campaign called “No Anorexia”. In the ad, she weighed 26kgs. Not long after, she passed away due to complications from her anorexia nervosa.
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