The cover of Rolling Stone was once reserved for the newest bands, the hottest singer-songwriters or the pop culture phenoms grabbing the country by the scruff of its neck.
By using that once revered space for an alleged terrorist, the magazine is squandering plenty of its accumulated good will. Even Hollywood denizens are speaking out against the use of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on its cover.
Doug Ellin, best known as one of the creative forces behind HBO’s Entourage, set the tone with this succinct Tweet:
Making a great album isn’t enough to get you on the cover of rolling stone anymore. Blowing up kids is.
Ralph Macchio of Karate Kid fame, retweeted Ellin’s message to share the actor’s frustration with his followers.
Others blasting Rolling Stone’s editorial decision include musician Tommy Lee, Jack Osbourne, John Rich, Carson Daly and Disturbed singer David Draiman.
Even Captain America himself, Chris Evans, weighed in on the matter:
Bad move, Rolling Stone
Even the official Twitter feed for The Howard Stern Show, a radio program known for its no holds barred humor, spoke out against the cover choice.
Good morning! Howard loves @RollingStone but is very offended by their cover with the Boston Bomber on it. https://bit.ly/11W330c
The magazine officially responded to the controversy today:
Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens.
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