The most controversial foreign magazine covers of 2023

Artificial intelligence played a role in two of the most controversial foreign magazine covers of 2023.

German magazine Die Aktuelle ran a cover story “interview” with Formula One racecar driver Michael Schumacher that was generated using artificial intelligence software. Schumacher has not been seen in public since December 2013 when he suffered a serious brain injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps.
The publishers of magazine fired the editor and apologized to Schumacher’s family for the stunt. (See articles by Reuters, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, Sports Illustrated and Deadline.)

Glamour magazine in Bulgaria sparked controversy with the publishing industry’s first-ever AI-generated magazine cover photo “shoot.”
The magazine used an AI image generator to create a Barbie-inspired cover with the likeness model and swimsuit designer Lisa Opie.
(See articles by Creative Bloq, Trend Hunter, Peta Pixel and New York Post.)

French government minister Marlene Schiappa got tongues wagging when she posed for the cover of men’s magazine Playboy in France. Schiappa, a feminist author-turned-junior social economy minister, appeared in a low-cut white bodysuit exposing her cleavage and spread legs in the April/June issue.
(See articles by the Daily Mail, New York Post, CNN and BBC.)

Critics roasted the Times magazine in Britain for treating ISIS bride Shamima Begum like “some sort of celebrity,” instead of the terrorist defector that she is.
(See articles by the Express, Sky News and Dominique Samuels on X.)

Turkey criticized London-based magazine the Economist for its cover story that warned of “Turkey’s looming dictatorship” under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (See articles by the Greek Reporter and Daily Sabah.)

Turkey also didn’t like the cover of German magazine Stern that referred to Ergogan as an “arsonist.” The magazine said he is stoking dangerous conflicts in other countries, including Germany.
(See articles by the Stockholm Center for Freedom and Turkish Minute.)

Plus, Turkey slammed the cover of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for its May 17 cover, which featured a cartoon of the Turkish president being electrocuted in a bathtub. (See article by Al Jazeera.)

China shut down Chinese literary magazine Selected Essays after 35 years when the publication printed a cover that appeared to lampoon President Xi Jinping.
(See articles by China Digital Times, Bitter Winter, Tibetan Review and German politician Reinhard Buetikofer.)

Glamour U.K. magazine featured a pregnant transgender man on its June digital cover. Critics were quick to point out that only women can get pregnant, regardless of gender dysphoria issues and body-changing procedures a person might go through.
(See articles by Fox News, NBC News, the Independent, American Greatness, OutKick and Zero Hedge.)

A bridal magazine in India, Brides Today, divided readers by putting a hairy, bearded non-binary model wearing a dress on its April cover. (See articles by the Daily Mail and New York Post.)

Finally, supermodel Giselle Bundchen shocked fans with her unrecognizable makeover for Vogue Italia’s March cover. (See articles by the Daily Mail, Page Six and Loudwire.)

Actresses, pop stars and models who flashed skin for magazine covers in 2023

A bevy of beauties took off their clothes or wore revealing outfits to sell magazines in 2023. Here’s the skinny.

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz went topless for the cover of Dust magazine’s spring-summer issue. (See article by Giant Freakin Robot.)

Singer and actress Janelle Monae posed topless for the June issue of Rolling Stone. (See articles by the Daily Mail, the Independent and Page Six.)

Model Winnie Harlow posed in the buff for Women’s Health magazine. (See articles by Yahoo Style and People.)

Model Paulina Porizkova bared her boobies while covered in silver paint for the cover of Elle Czech. (See articles by Parade, Page Six and Women’s Health.)

Singer and rapper Doja Cat freed the nipple for the cover of V magazine. (See article by Bustle.)

Model Leni Klum showed off her barely covered buns on the cover of Flaunt magazine. (See articles by Parade, Page Six and Flaunt.)

Actress Lily-Rose Depp went topless for i-D magazine. (See articles by Hollywood Life, Cosmopolitan and i-D.)

Actress Bella Thorne flashed underboob for Flaunt magazine. (See article by the Daily Mail.)

Model Amelia Gray Hamlin posed topless for Harper’s Bazaar France. (See article by Parade.)

Filipina television host and model Bianca Gonzalez posed topless for Mega magazine. (See article by ABS-CBN News.)

Finally, model and actress Julia Fox displayed a lot of skin for the cover of Rollacoaster magazine. (See articles by Rollacoaster, Cosmopolitan and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.)

2023’s most controversial U.S. magazine covers featured Taylor Swift, Kim Petras and ‘Dr.’ Jill Biden

The most controversial U.S. magazine covers of 2023 triggered readers for a host of reasons.

Time magazine’s choice of pop music star Taylor Swift as its “Person of the Year” upset people who felt it was more of a marketing decision to sell magazines rather than one based on historical impact.
Some felt the title should have gone to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin or OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman. (See articles on Newsweek and Newsweek again.)
On a humorous note, the cover with Swift and her cat Benjamin Button started a meme with people imitating the picture with their own pets. (See articles by Inc., Today, the Tennessean and Yahoo.)

Transgender pop singer Kim Petras disgusted some readers when she appeared on the cover of the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. Conservative pundit Megyn Kelly blasted the cover, saying it would be a turnoff for teenage boys. (See article by the New York Post.)

In a similar vein, transgender model Geena Rocero sparked criticism when she was chosen as a cover subject for Glamour’s “Women of the Year” issue. (See Libs of TikTok post.)

Women’s Health magazine promoted the U.S. first lady as “Dr. Jill Biden” on its September cover. She is not a medical doctor but has a doctoral degree in education. The AP Stylebook, the style bible for journalists, says non-medical professionals should not be identified with the honorific “doctor.” (See X post by conservative commentator Mollie Hemingway.)

Time magazine was accused of alarmism for its June 12 cover story on artificial intelligence titled “The End of Humanity.” (See article by the Wrap.)

Celebrity magazine Star sparked a backlash for its Aug. 21 cover story that claimed Sandra Bullock and her long-term partner Bryan Randall had a “messy split.” The magazine hit newsstands just days after Randall died of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). (See articles by the Independent and News.com.au.)

Ebony magazine had an unfortunate cover subject in actor Jonathan Majors, who it called “Hollywood’s Most Wanted,” on its February cover.
At first, the cover photo shoot was mocked for making the macho star look effeminate. (See articles by SK Pop and the Root.)
But on March 25, Majors was arrested after a domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend. On Dec. 18, Majors was convicted of reckless assault in the third degree and a charge of harassment. After his arrest, more women came forward to accuse Majors of abuse.
Majors since has been dropped by his management firm and fired from at least two movie roles. He’s now Hollywood’s “least wanted” actor.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a list of the year’s most controversial magazine covers without one or two starring Kim Kardashian.
In September, Kardashian debuted a shocking buzz haircut and thin eyebrows while wearing a greasy undershirt on the cover of CR Fashion Book. (See articles by People, the Independent, Evie and CNN.)
In November, GQ magazine had Kardashian on the cover of its Men of the Year issue. The issue left a lot of guys scratching their heads. (See articles by the Daily Mail and Unilad.)

Expect Disney to get litigious as Mickey Mouse enters the public domain

The Walt Disney Co. will lose copyright protection over the earliest version of Mickey Mouse on Jan. 1, 2024. That’s a big win for the general public. But the media conglomerate isn’t going to cede control over the character without a fight.
The purpose of copyright is to provide legal protection of literary and artistic ideas for a limited period of time. After which, those ideas belong to humanity, which can freely reinterpret them, expand on them and copy them in new ways. Copyrights are similar to patents, which are for business ideas.
Over the years, copyright protection has been extended several times, mostly benefiting corporations. The last extension of copyright terms in the U.S. in 1998 is derisively referred to as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.”
On Monday, the cartoon “Steamboat Willie” (1928) will finally enter the public domain. It features the earliest depictions of Mickey Mouse, his love interest Minnie Mouse and his arch-nemesis Pete.
Since that original cartoon short, those characters have appeared in numerous cartoons, movies, TV shows, comics and other media. And that’s where things get complicated for copyright. Also, Mickey’s appearance and that of the other characters have changed over the years.
Anyone wanting to adapt Mickey Mouse will need to stick closely to what was shown in the original 95-year-old cartoon. Since “Steamboat Willie” was in black and white, you probably can’t even depict the character with red shorts and yellow shoes. He also didn’t wear white gloves until a 1929 cartoon, “The Opry House.”
Anything Mickey Mouse has done in the decades since is off limits. For instance, you likely can’t portray Mickey as a soldier, firefighter, band conductor, detective, secret agent, sorcerer and more, because Disney did those later.
Ironically, unflattering depictions of Mickey Mouse are most likely safest from Disney’s copyrights. This includes Dan O’Neill’s depiction of Mickey as a drug smuggler in the “Air Pirates Funnies” (1971), which legal critics argue should have been covered by the parody exception to copyright.
There have been many cases of copyright holding companies and creator estates filing lawsuits against perceived infringements of later works of a popular character, such as Sherlock Holmes.
Also, Mickey Mouse is covered by trademarks of the Walt Disney Co. So it’s doubtful anyone can make Mickey-themed products like T-shirts and plush animals. Unlike copyrights, trademarks last in perpetuity as long as they continue to be used commercially by the owner.

Related articles:

Why the original Mickey Mouse copyright is expiring on New Year’s Day (New York Post; Dec. 28, 2023)

Mickey Mouse, Long a Symbol in Copyright Wars, to Enter Public Domain: ‘It’s Finally Happening’ (Variety; Dec. 22, 2023)

Mickey Mouse will soon belong to you and me — with some caveats (Associated Press; Dec. 30, 2023)

Why Is Media Lamenting Disney’s ‘Loss’ Of Copyright Instead Of Celebrating The Public Domain? (Techdirt; July 25, 2022)

There’s bound to be legal drama when Batman and Superman enter the public domain in coming years — but experts caution there’s ‘no precedent’ for the thorny issue (Business Insider; Aug. 25, 2022)

Disappearing web services due to changes at X, aka Twitter

One of the changes at X, formerly Twitter, that I disagree with has to do with curtailing access to its application programming interface. The previous openness of Twitter’s API created an ecosystem of useful services.
New owner Elon Musk cut off free access to Twitter’s API and initiated a pay-to-play plan as a means to raise revenue for the service. But the move negatively impacted researchers, government entities and small businesses that didn’t have the resources to pay for access.
One of the services I liked that stopped working because of the Twitter API changes was iUnfollow. I used iUnfollow for my work Twitter account to quickly and easily unfollow Twitter followers who did not follow me back. For that account, I use a reciprocal approach to following people.
IUnfollow says over 320,000 accounts used its service to perform more than 100 million unfollows since 2011. But the service stopped working for me and others in March 2023.
Similar websites that provided Twitter-related services also have gone dark including Tweepi, Twopcharts and SparkToro.

Photos: Screenshots from iUnfollow, Tweepi, Twopcharts and SparkToro.

X, formerly Twitter, perseveres despite uncertainty under Elon Musk

When Tesla billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, mostly left-wing pundits predicted that the social media service would fail under the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist.”
But despite some unpopular changes under Musk, Twitter, now called X, remains the internet’s public square. Copycat services like Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads haven’t gotten much traction because they simply don’t have the reach of X and don’t offer anything new and exciting. One alternative service, Pebble, previously known as T2, shut down in October.
Twitter has proven to be a sticky service for sports fans, news junkies and other users.
The latest challenge to X has come from advertisers deciding not to do business with it after Musk made some controversial comments on and off the service.
But singling out X was stupid considering that there’s even worse content on other social networks where those companies advertise. They include TikTok and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.
Consider these articles:

• UK accuses Meta of empowering child sexual abusers with encryption rollout. (The Guardian; Dec. 7, 2023)
• Facebook and Instagram Steer Predators to Children, New Mexico Attorney General Alleges in Lawsuit. (The Wall Street Journal; Dec. 6, 2023)
• Meta is child abuse ‘breeding ground,’ lawsuit claims. (BBC; Dec. 6, 2023)
• New Mexico lawsuit accuses Meta of creating ‘breeding ground’ for child predators. (CNN; Dec. 6, 2023)
• Meta Is Struggling to Boot Pedophiles Off Facebook and Instagram (The Wall Street Journal; Dec. 1, 2023)
• Google caught placing big-brand ads on hardcore porn sites, report says (Ars Technica; Nov. 29, 2023)
• Google search ads spotted in compromising placements (TechCrunch; Nov. 28, 2023)
• Google Search Ads End Up on Pornographic and Sanctioned Sites (Adweek; Nov. 28, 2023)
• Substack Has a Nazi Problem (The Atlantic; Nov. 28, 2023)

Sure, X has its problems. But for the average person who uses the service as a news feed and for entertainment, it hasn’t changed that much in the last year-plus.
I dislike a number of changes at Twitter under Musk, including the terrible rebranding to X.
My biggest complaint was Twitter changing its blue checkmarks from verified accounts of notable people and organizations to a pay-to-play scheme for anonymous trolls and scammers who get their speech amplified.
But there have been good changes under Musk’s ownership.
The best change has been the ability for the users to fact-check tweets, news articles and even advertisements with the “Community Notes” feature.
Still, X is facing pressure from left-wing groups such as Media Matters that object to X being a platform for freedom of speech.
That’s led advertisers like Apple, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery to pause their ads on X. Musk says those companies are trying to kill X. (See articles by the New York Times, Reuters and CNBC.)
Musk does have his supporters, including Bill Ackman, chief executive of hedge fund Pershing Square. “We all should be grateful that X is owned by Musk,” he said in a recent X post.

Photo: Twitter art by Esther Vargas via Creative Commons.

Who should be inducted next into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

After the Nov. 3 induction ceremony for the 2023 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, attention has now turned to which artists will be or should be nominated for the 2024 class.
The 2023 class featured 13 artists and music industry professionals. Of those, seven were in the performer category. However, the 2023 class included 10 headlining acts in total. They were Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners, Chaka Khan, DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray.
Those inductees put just a small dent in the Rock Hall’s ridiculously long backlog of deserving artists waiting to be enshrined. (Check out Future Rock Legends for the full list.)
This year’s nominees were revealed on Feb. 1 and the inductees were announced on May 3.
Here are my personal picks of artists that I’d like to see get nominated next year:

• Joy Division/New Order
• Phil Collins
• Billy Idol
• INXS
• The Pointer Sisters
• Sade
• Cyndi Lauper
• Mariah Carey
• The Smiths
• Thin Lizzy
• Scorpions
• Smashing Pumpkins
• Siouxsie & the Banshees
• Foreigner
• Gloria Estefan

Photos: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio (Credit: Tony Fischer via Creative Commons); and Rock Hall 2023 inductees (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

The end of movies on disc is nigh

Netflix ending its DVD-by-mail service last month was just the latest sign that movies on physical media are going away. And with it goes consumer ownership of physical copies of their favorite movies and TV series.
Going forward, consumers will be left to the whims of streaming video services to decide which movies to carry. Or they’ll be forced to pay for a digital rental or purchase of a movie title, if it’s even available.
Last week, director Christopher Nolan encouraged movie fans to buy a copy of his film “Oppenheimer” on Blu-ray Disc “so no evil streaming service can come steal it from you.” (See articles by Variety and IndieWire.)
In addition to Netflix getting out of the DVD business, there have been other signs that the medium has reached its end game.
Retailer Best Buy plans to phase out sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs both in-store and online in early 2024. It wants to use that space for other merchandise. (See articles by Variety and Media Play News.) Other retailers like Walmart and Target also are cutting back on their DVD offerings.
Also, Ingram Entertainment, a leading DVD distributor, announced that it is winding down operations after more than 35 years in business.
The DVD market has been waning for years as consumers have switched to streaming video services for entertainment. But the decline has accelerated recently.
Media pundits have noted that many movies and TV series that were released on DVD are now difficult or impossible to find in any digital format. And that’s a shame for the movie fans and culture as a whole.

Related articles:

Why the Dying DVD Business Could Be Headed for a Resurrection (The Hollywood Reporter; Nov. 10, 2023)

‘Crossroads,’ Britney Spears and the Journey to Watch a DVD in 2023 (New York Times; Oct. 18, 2023)

Where’s the Love? — Is Hollywood Abandoning Disc, Once its Golden Goose, Too Fast? (Media Play News; Sept. 25, 2023)

The DVD’s Demise Leaves Many Films Gone With the Wind (Wall Street Journal; April 27, 2023)

For movie lovers, there’s a darker side to Netflix ending DVD rentals (Washington Post; April 21, 2023)

Photo: DVD collection (Dave Campbell via Creative Commons)

Netflix destroyed most of its DVD collection

Netflix officially shut down its DVD.com business last month after collecting the last of its discs by mail on Oct. 27. So what happened to the thousands of movies and TV series on disc in its collection?
“As we’ve done over the last 25 years, we’ll be recycling the majority of our DVDs through third-party companies that specialize in recycling digital and electronic media,” a Netflix spokesperson said. “We’re also donating a portion of our inventory to organizations focused on film and media.”
Those organizations included the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the USC Cinematic Arts Library. But those colleges didn’t get many discs.
“We were offered some DVDs from Netflix but most were duplicates of what we already owned so we selected about 50 of them for our collection,” Steve Hanson, associate professor and head of the Cinematic Arts Library said.
The DVDs it got from Netflix were a “mixed bag” ranging from comedy, drama and horror to international. Some titles included “Baby Driver,” “Living,” “Monsters University,” “Mother!,” “Overlord” and “The Banshees of Inisherin.”
Jeremy Schug, senior director of communications and digital strategy, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, said Tisch received a small selection of DVDs as a donation. He didn’t have any details on titles or genres.
“We understand that the majority of Netflix’s DVD inventory was recycled,” Schug said.
DVDs, Blu-ray Discs and CDs can be recycled for their polycarbonate plastic. Recycling firms shred the discs and use specialized equipment to remove the ink, lacquer and reflective metal layers to get the polycarbonate resin, which can be sold to make new items.
In the third quarter, its last quarter of operation, Netflix’s DVD-by-mail business generated $22 million in revenue, down 37% year over year. Netflix announced the coming end of its DVD business last April.

Related article:

Ted Sarandos Lauds Netflix’s Final DVD Rental Shipment (Media Play News; Sept. 29, 2023)

Photos: Netflix billboard and goodbye message to customers (Netflix)

There’s a Letterboxd for that. Movie website Letterboxd has spawned a host of copycats.

A website or online service isn’t truly a phenomenon until it spawns a multitude of copycats.
Take Letterboxd, the popular movie website. Letterboxd describes itself as “a global social network for grass-roots film discussion and discovery.”
Letterboxd users share their opinions on movies they’ve seen, create lists and collections of films, and find and follow fellow movie lovers. The website launched in October 2011. And earlier this month, Canadian investment firm Tiny bought a majority stake in Letterboxd. (See articles by Variety and the New York Times.)
Others have taken notice of the success Letterboxd has had and have launched similar websites for other interests.
A quick search of Google shows a host of copycats. There’s a Letterboxd for video games (Backloggd), TV shows (Serialzd), anime (AniList) and music (Musicboard). There’s even a Letterboxed for beer (Untappd).
I’m sure there are many more similar websites out there.
One of the limitations of Letterboxd is that it doesn’t cover TV series or miniseries. That’s limiting in a world where the lines between movies and TV shows are blurring. Letterboxd has plans to add TV content at some point.
Ironically, Letterboxd says it’s been called “Goodreads for movies.” Goodreads is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations. Amazon.com bought Goodreads in March 2013.

X, aka Twitter, accounts fighting the woke movement

The woke movement and the backlash to it have been a major story in American politics. Progressive liberals have been promoting special rights and considerations for certain groups of sensitive individuals, demanding changes to society and even language to accommodate them.
Woke groups advocate for biological males, aka trans women, to play in women’s sports. They are promoting gender affirmation surgery, aka sex change operations, for juveniles. They are pushing pornographic books to school kids and say efforts to stop them amount to book banning. They also are bringing school kids to provocative drag queen shows.
They have pushed climate change hysteria and policies that are soft on crime, weak on immigration and voter fraud. They espouse socialist ideals while ignoring the overwhelmingly negative consequences of socialism worldwide. They also are pushing for separate spaces for racial minority groups in schools, ironically bringing back segregation. The list goes on and on.
These groups do not believe in free speech. They try to prevent opposing views through violent protests, shouting at speakers and claiming a “hate speech” exemption to the First Amendment when there is none.
Thankfully, “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk has allowed anti-woke speakers to have a forum on X, formerly Twitter. Woke speakers are on the platform too, but at least there is a balance and a conversation.
Some of the most interesting and entertaining anti-woke accounts are The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee), End Wokeness (@EndWokeness), Wokely Correct Comics (@WokelyCorrect), Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) and Titania McGrath (@TitaniaMcGrath).
High-profile anti-woke pundits and commentators on X include Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly), James Woods (@RealJamesWoods), Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog), Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok), Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10), John Stossel (@JohnStossel), Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) and Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar).
Those are just a few of the people fighting the good fight.

Photos: Defiant L’s and Wokely Correct Comics.

Sexy Halloween costumes in 2023 to be dominated by ‘Barbie’

America leads the world in sexy Halloween costumes. U-S-A! U-S-A!
This year, the hit movie “Barbie” is influencing a lot of Halloween costumes for adults. A check of the Halloween costumes on Yandy.com shows a lot of outfits inspired by the movie, which is based on Mattel’s doll family.
For the ladies, there’s the “Genuine Doll Costume,” “Retro Rollerblade Doll Costume” and “Western Star Costume.” Barbie is trademarked, hence the clever use of the word “doll.”
For men wanting to dress up as Ken, there is the “Mr. Malibu Costume,” “Men’s Retro Rollerblade Stud Costume” and “Men’s Mojo Dojo Faux Fur Coat.”
And for those weirdos who want to dress as Ken’s friend Allan, you’re on your own.