Rolling Stone cover of Boston bombing suspect draws outrage and boycotts
Rolling Stone cover of bombing suspect called 'slap' to Boston
Outrage is growing across social media over Rolling Stone magazine's decision to put Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the accused Boston Marathon bomber, on the cover of its latest issue.
The picture is one that Tsarnaev himself posted online and has been published widely by other media outlets in the past. But a groundswell of criticism objecting to its prominent play emerged on platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
incase you failed to realize #TheBostonBomber is a muderer not a band & has no place being on the cover of @RollingStone
— Kelly Osbourne (@KellyOsbourne) July 17, 2013
Really @RollingStone ? Wtff!!! pic.twitter.com/kpAPZKt3Oc
— T O M M Y L E E (@MrTommyLand) July 17, 2013
Roland Stone responded to the criticism with this statement:
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. –THE EDITORS
Prominent businesses have responded to the public cry and has announced that they will not sell the August issue:
- CVS
- Tedeschi Food Shops
- Walgreens
- Rite Aid
So was this cover in bad taste? Or has the backlash gone overboard?
OutFront tonight: Erik Wemple is the Washington Post's Media Critic.
It's important for us to understand how a totally seemingly normal young man is capable of such act. Is there a monster in every one of us? There's nothing wrong with rolling stone's cover choice.
He is a terrorist and an idiot!!! No business to be on the RollingStone cover.How dare you!!!! Ban RollingStone magazine for putting up that picture! He is not a hero nor a god.
If the editor of Rolling Stone had been at the finish line in Boston the bomb might have blown his head out of his ass. But obviously he wasn't there.
Concerning the zimmerman verdict... the situation was a man who wanted to be a cop and a young man who wanted to be a thug. When trayvon acted like a thug he was treated as such. He chose to fight. Zimmerman never threatened Trayvon even though he had a gun. He used it to protect himself. We need to teach people the importance of who and what they choose as role models in their life. This is the real importance of this case.