The most controversial foreign magazine covers of 2017

Americans aren’t the only people who freak out when they see magazine covers that clash with their worldview or sensibilities.
What follows is a review of some of the most controversial foreign magazine covers of the year, as discussed mostly by English-language media.

U.S. magazines have been reserved in their coverage of President Donald Trump compared with foreign magazines.
Ireland’s political and cultural magazine Village suggested that a sniper assassinate Trump. Its February cover showed Trump in the crosshairs with the headline “Why not.”
(See articles by Fox News, the Sun and Belfast Telegraph.)

The Feb. 4 issue of German news magazine Der Spiegel showed Trump with a bloody butcher knife and holding the decapitated head of Lady Liberty.
(See articles by BBC News and Business Insider.)

German news magazine Stern depicted Trump giving a Nazi salute while draped in an American flag on its Aug. 24 issue. The cover headline “Sein Kampf,” or “His Struggle” is a play on Adolf Hitler’s 1925 book “Mein Kampf.”
(See articles by the Daily Mail, the Hill and USA Today.)

First Lady Melania Trump’s appearance on the February cover of Vanity Fair Mexico provoked outrage for being insensitive to Mexico’s poor. She posed sitting at a dining table with a bowl of jewelry and using a fork to twirl a necklace like spaghetti.
(See articles by the Guardian and USA Today.)

Canadian news magazine Maclean’s painted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in an unfavorable light with a Photoshopped cover that gave him a balding head like his father.
(See article by Narcity.)

The July 31 issue of India Today pissed off mainland China by illustrating the country without disputed territories Tibet and Taiwan.
(See articles by Adweek, Times Now and South China Morning Post.)

A cover of Japanese magazine Brutus had Taiwanese media outlets up in arms, upset at how their country was portrayed. Some thought the photo of Guohua-jie, a street in Tainan famous for its fine cuisine, intentionally tried to convey a low standard of living.
(See articles by Nippon.com and Taiwan News.)

Animal rights activists hated a cover of Brides Indonesia that used an endangered orangutan as a prop.
(See article by Coconuts Bali.)

French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles was harshly criticized for putting on its cover rock star Bertrand Cantat who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend. The cover treatment seemed to glorify Cantat.
(See articles by the Guardian, New York Times and BBC.)

French sports magazine L'Équipe dared to focus on the impact of menstruation in sports for its Feb. 18 cover story “The champions break the last taboo of the sport.”
(See article by Liberation.)

Brazilian weekly news magazine Istoé came under fire for featuring only white faces on its “Brazilians of the year” cover – underneath a headline that asked why “angry racism” still exists. (See article by the Guardian.)

Actor George Clooney blasted French magazine Voici for publishing pictures of his newborn twins on its cover. He claimed photographers trespassed on his property and violated his privacy to take the photos.
(See articles by the Economic Times, the Hollywood Reporter, Gossip Cop and Mirror.)

Victoria’s Secret model Sara Sampaio said French publication Lui magazine pressured her to pose nude on set and published topless photos of her that were in violation of her “no nudity” contract. Sampaio exposes a nipple on the cover of the magazine.
(See articles by People, Fashionista, Celebrity Hive, Glamour and the Daily Star.)

French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was the center of controversy for a front cover blaming terrorist attacks in Europe on Islam. A cover illustration in August depicted two blood-soaked pedestrians after being hit by a speeding van, with the caption: “Islam is the religion of peace eternal.”
(See articles by the Daily Mail, Town Hall and Anadolu Agency.)

Muslim commentators accused model Gigi Hadid of wearing a hijab as a “fashion statement” rather than religious apparel on the cover of the first issue of Vogue Arabia in March. Critics also accused the half-Palestinian model of “cultural appropriation.”
(See article by the Daily Mail.)

Singer and beauty entrepreneur Rihanna was criticized for cultural appropriation for dressing as Egyptian Queen Nefertiti on the November cover of Vogue Arabia.
(See articles by the Huffington Post and Stylecaster.)

Britain’s Evening Standard apologized for using Photoshop to remove an ornate hair braid from a picture of singer Solange Knowles on the Oct. 20 cover of its ES Magazine.
(See articles by Hello Giggles, Spin, Glamour and The Drum.)

Grazia UK magazine apologized to actress Lupita Nyong’o for using a photo on its cover that smoothed her natural hair and removed a curly ponytail.
(See articles by the Daily Mail, People, Page Six and the Telegraph.)

Actress and model Emily Ratajkowski slammed French magazine Madame Figaro for Photoshopping her breasts and lips on its cover.
(See articles by the Daily Mail, Allure, People and InStyle.)

Related reading:

The most controversial U.S. magazine covers of 2017