It’s been said before, but it’s sort of worth saying anything: some of the magazines geared towards young female readership are increasingly woke and badass. I think publications like Seventeen and Cosmopolitan have been increasingly hiring young and talented women, and judging from the writing and content, many of those women are probably women of color. Those women have pushed those magazines to make some great decisions with their online content and with their print issues. Here’s further evidence: Cosmopolitan was set to feature a Bachelor woman named Victoria Fuller on its latest digital issue. Then Cosmo editors learned that Fuller had once modeled “White Lives Matter” t-shirts and Cosmo was like “Not on my watch, Becky.”
Cosmopolitan magazine has decided not to publish its Bachelor cover after all. Fans of the ABC reality series who watched on Monday night might be expecting to see contestant Victoria Fuller grace the cover of the magazine’s next digital issue — but that will no longer happen after Fuller was allegedly linked to a clothing brand that featured the words “White Lives Matter.” It first surfaced last month that Fuller had once modeled for a “Marlin Lives Matter” ad campaign and wore clothing featured the slogan “White Lives Matter.”
“Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand,” Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Jessica Pels shared in a letter from the editor published online Monday night, announcing that despite winning the group date challenge, Fuller’s cover would not be released. “We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color. When my team and I flew down to Costa Rica for our challenge, we weren’t told who our models were going to be. We didn’t even meet them until we were all on camera on-set, ready to start our shoot,” Pels wrote.
“So when it came time for me to choose the winner of the challenge—whose prize was a digital cover of Cosmo—all I knew about the contestants were their first names and the energy they conveyed through the camera lens,” Pels continued. “It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I found out that the woman I’d chosen had, in her past, modeled in an ad campaign wearing White Lives Matter attire. My team and I had many long discussions about how we wanted to address this issue. We’d already printed the fashion shoot in our March issue, complete with an inset of the cover, and of course, the episode had already been filmed,” Pels concluded. “Ultimately what felt right was choosing not to publish the digital cover on our website or social feeds, and simply being honest with you, the audience we respect, about what happened and where we stand.”
Fuller’s modeling was reportedly affiliated with the White Marlin Marina, which has been using the phrases “White Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” to promote the conservation of certain types of fish, namely white marlin, USA Today reported back in 2016. The shirts’ designer, George Lamplugh, told the outlet at the time that “any person who sees the shirt and sees that flag will know what it’s for.”
I mean… White Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter WITH REGARDS TO MARLIN? Well. Yeah, everyone does know what it’s really for. And just as editorial decision, 100% props to Jessica Pels. She and her team made a mistake and instead of doubling down and releasing the digital cover just because of “editorial scheduling,” Pels did the right thing and consulted her team as they learned the information. They decided to do the right thing in the long term, which is stand up for the BLM movement.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Instagram.
Even if was related to marlin, that’s repulsive to lift the terminology of a black civil rights movement and conflate the fight for social justice as it affects ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS to fish. Get out of here. I’m not surprised that even Cosmo wasn’t stupid enough to step in that nonsense.
Exactly
Absolutely the right thing. The amount of blatant attacks and ongoing disrespect that BLM movement has dealt with just goes to show how important their message is to begin with.
Zero tolerance for people undermining the BLM movement in any way! My god can you imagine having no life and no core morality, to the point where you need to try to invalidate a movement by people who are statistically at risk and oppressed?
This is a good lesson. Don’t model racist gear even if you are hurting for work. Although this may go the other way and she’ll get work posing in some gun magazine. Teen Vogue recently featured a story explaining Marxist economics. These young women’s magazines are doing good work.
I’ve seen a lot of great stuff about Teen Vogue in the past few years.
Yes, Teen Vogue is amazing! I almost want to say they sort of lead the way with their article “Donald Trump is Gaslighting America.” They’ve also done a lot of sex positive/educational pieces. I’m so happy to see that young people have access to nuanced information in a way that I just don’t remember having 10-15 years ago.
Are the fish conservation people (and apparently, the people modeling for them) really this stupid? They would rather be this offensive than come up with their own motto?!?
A very sweet friend of mine got me a “Drunk Wives Matter” shirt for Christmas, and was absolutely shocked that I found it offensive, to the point where she spent the rest of the evening getting teary-eyed and defensive because “everyone thinks I’m a racist now.”
They don’t understand why it’s offensive, and then don’t understand how to respond when people get upset. The world outside their bubble is “too political” to even have a thoughtful conversation about it.
Insert eyeroll for the white woman tears deflection. JFC we as white women need to stop this crap and own up. Too damn bad she thought everyone thought she was a racist. It’s a teaching moment, Karen.
The co-opting of a black civil rights movement for fish? Because we all know black lives are the equivalent to the lives of Marlin. That’s how little black lives are valued by some. Thereby further proving the entire POINT of the BLM movement.
My favorite is Teen Vogue. They mince no words and they give me a lot of hope for the message and actions of the younger generations among us.
It’s great that Cosmo took this stance, too.
White Marlin Lives Matter, my buns. That is disrespectful at best and wink-and-nudge racist at worst. Cosmo is smart not to play along with them and their not-so-cute and highly inappropriate double entendre.
Teen Vogue is so good with editor Elaine Welteroth!! I can’t get over how progressive and amazing it is now.
I’m not sure that the content of The Bachelor, with a bevy of drunken women fighting over one dopey guy, is really a good look for Cosmopolitan, either.
Haha yes! Anything related to that show is trash. Idk how that suits to anyone’s brand unless your brand is white trash promotion.
While I do think the conservation group should’ve come up with their own motto (specifically to avoid a controversy such as this), I find it sad that people think human lives are more important than the lives of other beings. Why? This is ego. No living creature is more important than another, white human, black human, dolphin, fish, whale, bee, butterfly, ant…we all play a role on this planet and we all inhabit it. What gives us more right to live than any other creature? If anything humans are wreaking more havoc than anything else and ruining it for all of the other creatures that exist here. People commenting about how a human’s life is more important than a marlin’s just sound awfully ignorant to me. But when you grow up treating animals as worthless, well, I guess that’s what you believe.
Also…is this the same girl in both photos because she is photoshopped out of control in the first photo if that’s the case. She looks like two completely different people.
Just stop.
Well Jen, even if you feel that an ant being stepped on is truly on the same level as a human man who is unarmed and non combative being shot point blank by police (which is what the BLM movement is trying to get society at large to pay attention to and FIX finally), even if you feel those things are on the same level it still isn’t OK to use the motto of a civil rights movement.
Get your own motto if you want to stand up for the erm… rights… of… uh… fish? Is that what you’re concerned with? The rights of fish? OK then, it’s your life to live and go ahead and stand up for the rights of fish. But leave the motto of a very important civil rights movement out of it, don’t water down their message (no pun intended) or try to make it some cute catch-all phrase to be applied to every sad little fish or ant.
Okay, PETA.
You can still come up with your own slogans without co-opting (one might even say Columbusing) the movements, slogans and momentum of others.
Yeah, so to everyone lashing out at me here: Re-read my post. That’s literally the first thing I said – they should’ve come up with their own slogan. And yes I stand by my comments. Speciesism is a sad reality, whether you like it or not, we value some animals lives as precious and some as worthless or merely a food source. Abuse toward animals in our world is rampant and it’s horrific. I may be alone in this thread but at one time, the majority of people didn’t consider people of color to have any value other than to be slaves and we all know that was terrible and morally wrong, even if most people didn’t agree with it. You can mock me all you want, call me PETA, and try to justify your actions in your own mind by lashing out at me but I know I’m on the right side of history. The way we treat animals is abhorrent. And yes, I don’t think I have any more right to live on this planet than any other living creature. If you feel differently that’s your opinion and it’s tied to ego.
And I am very appalled by the treatment of POC by police especially, as well as micro aggressions and flat out racism, it’s all wrong. I am equally as passionate about that as I am about animal rights. They are both extremely important and deserve to be highlighted, acted upon, and changed. Just because I’m passionate about animal rights doesn’t mean I don’t also care about standing up against racism also. I care about both. A lot.
It’s easy to lash out at a stranger on the internet but try to remember I’m a person you really know nothing about. I have a huge heart and I literally cry myself to sleep some nights thinking about how baby male chicks are ground up alive or angora rabbits are tied down and have their fur literally ripped out for luxury clothing. It’s not right. And neither is racism or oppression of minorities – including animals who can’t even speak for themselves.
@Jen Yeah, so you didn’t say any of that. But go off . You were literally arguing the point that a fish’s life is just as important as a black human being’s.
And just to give you a heads up of what you’re low key endorsing: the organization in question use a CONFEDERATE FLAG with a Marlin in the middle of it. But again – go off.
And when was the last time you cried about a black person’s life being taken??
Girl, girl, girl. I’m a huge animal lover too. But the fact that you choose to talk about animal lives and not even mention the actual humans is way messed up. It makes you seem like you care more about animals than people murdered by police. Go peddle your animal rights speech somewhere else, we’re talking about people’s lives here!
I get what you mean you Jen. I believe we all are just bubbles of the same giant consciousness. We are all connected. A mushroom might be more intelligent than humans. We don’t know everything.
I get that you’re passionate about animals, but this really isn’t the right context for that argument.
If a fireman breaks into your burning house when you’re standing next to a dog, and they have to choose one before the place collapses, do you expect them to rescue you or the dog?
Don’t answer. We both know what it is. The question is as ridiculous as your post.
Even ignoring the strawmans aspect of your argument (criticizing the dehumanizing appropriation of a logo does not imply disregard for species conservation), you know damn well why humans put humans first, the same reason any species protects their own. Don’t pretend, either, that a huge of conservation isn’t largely about making sure our species can continue living on this planet.
Black lives matter and I’m gonna go eat a cheeseburger now. F off Jen
OK, I normally don’t get involved in these kind of pointless discussions but this one got to me. Jen, you seem like a genuinely caring human being but context is everything. I am a vegan – have been for 8 years and I believe wholeheartedly that humans have been fed a line of propaganda in terms of the meat and dairy and animal product industries… but, and this is a huge BUT, I cannot handle when vegans appropriate arguments around racism or racial injustice for animal rights. Again, HUGE animal lover here but I remember a group of vegans using images of African Americans being lynched and trying to make the argument that the way cows or pigs that are up for slaughter are treated is no different, and I just could not get on board. There is a time and a place to discuss the presumed equivalencies of all living beings but right now, we’re talking about a very specific and targeted attempt to co-opt a movement intended to promote the betterment of black lives in the US. This is NOT about anything else. Point blank. Period.
Yeah fellow Bach fans, this girl is trash. She has a habit of sleeping with men who are married…to her friends. Ended four marriages. It’ll come out at hometowns!
You mean, GASP!, she’s not there for the right reasons. I’m shook.
And of COURSE she is sporting a cross pendant 🙄
Is it just me or does she look like a pasty freckle-less Meghan in the first photo?
She looks like a prettier meghan markle imo
And I think that’s 100% why they hired her.
I dont see it. She doesn’t look like Meghan at all to me.
Nah, Meghan Markle has that twinkle in her eye. Hard to explain. Its like an inner beauty that shines on the outside.
“Prettier” why? Cause she’s white? 🤔
The only resemblance that I see is that they both have dark hair and brown eyes.
Joanna, I agree, dark hair and dark eyes. That’s it, but she tried it.
I see a little similarity, but personally think Meghan is prettier.
She looks nothing like Meghan LOL
I don’t think they look similar at all!
Your opinion is wrong. Meghan is prettier.
maybe the expression? I’ve always found that Meghan to present as extremely elegant and gorgeous. This girl isn’t all that imo – pretty, yes, but that’s it.
I was trying to give the benefit of the doubt….and then I saw that one of the shirts was a confederate flag with marlins in the blue x. Soooo…yeah, it means exactly what we all think it means 🙄🤬
I love how people have tried to gaslight us into thinking this is all about fish. Sure, because the first thing you think about when you see a “white lives matter” shirt is FISH. Also, this website also sold confederate flags merch, which they immediately took down when this became a thing. Credit Bachelor fans for finding this out because ABC doesn’t do background checks on their contestants, so we’ve had many more racist people on the show before that have been exposed by fans who are sick of this. Like, Becca’s final 1 Garrett liked and shared many alt-right memes on Instagram against black people, immigrants, Mexicans, LGBTQ people… Becca calls herself a liberal and a feminist, yet she stood by this man because #whitefeminist. Demi, who was so celebrated for being part of the show’s first lesbian couple (which was fake btw) was recently caught by Reddit using the N-word in old Instagram posts. And so on…
It’s honestly disgusting. Especially when you consider that fans were rooting for a contestant to be the first black Bachelor. For the first time ever, the fans’ first choice was a black man. Everyone loved Mike. And ABC ignored fans, wishes for boring Peter.
And believe it or not, this isn’t even the worst thing about Victoria. There’s some major, major dirt that’s about to come out on the show. Let’s just say this girl has ruined her life simply by going on the show because all her crap is about to be exposed. That’s karma. I’d watch the final 3 episodes to see what I mean. It’ll be satisfying to see a racist get her karma.
I watch the Bachelor (this is the first season I’ve ever watched !) and I really thought Veronica was mixed race? I’m glad Cosmo had the sense to pull the cover…good for them. This is some b.s. for sure. Why do people have such a difficult time with the BLM ? Idiots.
She looks mixed race to me, nothing wrong with that but it astounds me when mixed race people spout this white lives matter nonsense.