In the past, magazines were more popular than they are today. They were a source of entertainment, providing light reading and news. Whether it was a fashion magazine, a pop-culture magazine, or a news magazine, they all relied on their covers to sell. Many ‘90s magazine covers are iconic, yet some could be considered controversial or even offensive today. These are 21 popular magazine covers from the ‘90s that would spark outrage now:
Time- June, 1994
Time magazine had one of the most controversial magazine covers in their June 1994 edition. It featured the police mugshot of OJ Simpson, who was a suspect in a double homicide. The cover stood out even more because the magazine was accused of retouching the photo to make Simpson’s skin appear darker. Today, this kind of accusation against the magazine would lead to massive outrage among people who would consider the retouching to be racist.
Vogue- October 1998
Vogue is one of the most prominent fashion magazines and has a major influence on the fashion industry. In their October 1998 issue, Oprah Winfrey was featured on the cover wearing a black dress and posing on a chair. Although, at face value, nothing is wrong with the cover photo, many consider Oprah unrecognizable on the cover. This magazine cover would spark outrage and be criticized by many today, who believe the magazine edited and retouched the photo to make Oprah appear a certain way.
Rolling Stone- April, 1999
Celebrity magazine covers have mainly featured celebrities adequately dressed and styled. However, in their April 1999 edition, Rolling Stone featured Britney Spears on the cover, wearing only her underwear. This was a scandalous cover when it first came out, but with the new millennium, magazine covers became even more scandalous. Yet, the Britney Spears cover would spark outrage today, especially because the singer was only 17 years old when she was featured on it in a scandalous dress.
Vanity Fair- August 1991
In 1991, Demi Moore was featured on the cover of Vanity Fair in the nude while being seven months into her pregnancy. The cover sparked a movement towards normalizing conversations about promiscuity and pregnancy and came to be one of the most talked about magazine covers that year. Although the cover resulted in a positive move towards essential conversations, it has the potential to spark outrage in some individuals today. This is because some may consider the cover overly promiscuous and inappropriate for some audiences.
Rolling Stone- September 1993
In September 1993, Janet Jackson was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. The photo chosen by the artist was a photo of her with her chest exposed and a man’s hands over her breasts. This cover would spark outrage today among many individuals who may find the photo too provocative and even offensive to women.
Vanity Fair- February 1994
Roseanne Barr was featured in the February 1994 edition of Vanity Fair magazine. She was dressed in lingerie, which led to criticism. Today, this cover would spark outrage in many people who would deem the photo that was chosen to be on the cover too vulgar and even overly erotic. Some would even go on to debate whether women are often eroticized on magazine covers as a marketing tactic.
The Source- September 1995
The September 1995 issue of The Source magazine featured a photo of Mike Tyson after his conviction and prison sentence. The cover sparked a lot of debates and outrage, and people viewed the cover as sensationalism of an athlete convicted of a serious crime. Today, this cover would receive the same kind of reaction. The headlines on the cover did not do much to help the magazine, which was trying to portray the athlete in a reformed light.
Rolling Stone- June 1992
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers were one of the biggest bands in the ‘90s, with fans worldwide. They were featured on many magazine covers that decade, and one of the most talked-about covers was the June 1992 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. In this cover, we see all the band members standing in the nude with zero clothes on but with their hands covering their most private areas.
Time- April 1997
In April 1997, Time Magazine featured Ellen DeGeneres on the cover with the headline “Yep, I’m Gay”. This led to a lot of controversy in the ‘90s, owing to her career as a talk show host, which many thought would lead to the end of her career. This cover sparked significant outrage in the past and has the potential to do so today among many readers who may view the cover as inappropriate. On the other hand, some readers may look at the cover as a step towards positivity for those who belong to the same LGBTQ+ community as DeGeneres, causing multiple debates.
Vogue- May 1996
In Vogue’s May 1996 issue, we see a photo of a woman running on the beach wearing a bikini, and there are multiple headlines about getting an ideal body or losing fat. These include headlines that read “Living fat-free” and “Getting the body you want.” With body shaming becoming a big issue in modern times, these kinds of headlines would cause outrage in many people who would deem such headlines inappropriate.
ESPN The Magazine- August 1999
To make NFL drafts a light-hearted affair, ESPN The Magazine featured NFL star Ricky Williams dressed in a white wedding gown, with the Saints Coach wearing a suit posing behind him. This raised many eyebrows when it hit the stands, especially because of the major debates surrounding gay marriages at the time. Although the magazine wanted to highlight the commitment to choosing players and teams, it may have gone too far with the cover, which has the potential to spark outrage among many sports fans and gay rights activists.
The Economist- September 1994
The Economist is a magazine known for its focus on current affairs, providing readers with some of the biggest news worldwide. In the September 1994 issue of the magazine, we see the headline “The trouble with mergers” with a picture that depicts two animals in a compromised position while seemingly having a shout at each other. Today, this cover may spark outrage among many individuals who consider the cover inappropriate for a magazine like the Economist.
Rolling Stone- June 1991
In the June 1991 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Madonna was featured on the cover sitting on a chair with its backrest turned towards the camera and seemingly wearing close to nothing. This cover would spark major outrage among magazine readers today, who may deem it too provocative for some audiences. Additionally, some may feel that the magazine may ruin its reputation for having people barely clothed on its cover.
Marie Claire- December 1998
In the December 1998 issue of Brazil’s Marie Claire, we see supermodel Gisele Bundchen on the cover with a seemingly no-makeup look. The model seems nearly unrecognizable to many, who seem to confuse her for other actresses or celebrities, owing to the editing that went into the photo. Today, this cover would be deemed inappropriate to many because of the large-scale editing that went into the photo to make the model look different from what she actually looks like.
Vogue- April 1991
The April 1991 issue of Vogue’s magazine cover reads, “Now thinking of fitness, weight loss workouts, leg shaping…” With specific body shapes being more popular that year, many women were left feeling ashamed of what they looked like and how they could not achieve the “ideal body type.” Today, such headlines spark outrage, especially among women who are expected to have specific unrealistic body shapes.
Marie Claire
In a UK issue from the ‘90s, Marie Claire published a magazine cover with multiple headlines, including “How it feels to be born beautiful” and “Men for sale.” With beauty standards and the objectification of people leading to many debates, these headlines would spark outrage in many modern readers who believe that the wording is inappropriate and severely outdated.
Wired- June 1997
Wired’s June 1997 magazine cover features a photo of the famous Apple logo wrapped in barbed wires with a single-word headline- “Pray”. The magazine believed the company had difficult times ahead and may soon face bankruptcy. The magazine went on to offer the now highly successful company with friendly advice on how to save itself. Today, this cover may spark outrage for those in the tech industry who believe that magazines should refrain from making predictions or comments about the fate of a company without having actual proof.
Glamor- June 1993
Like many fashion magazines in the ‘90s, Glamor magazine also focused on how women could achieve specific body shapes or dress in a way that would flatter them. This was true for the magazine’s June 1993 cover, which had a headline reading “Swimsuits ’93- what really flatters”. This kind of headline would lead to significant debates among modern readers, with many finding it offensive and leaning towards body shaming of women.
Forbes- April 1992
As a business magazine, Forbes has been read by many readers in the past who are looking for some of the best tips, advice, and news about what is going on in the business world. In the April 1992 issue of the magazine, a cover story was run advising readers against putting money into the stock market because they expected it to be a wrong financial decision, which was untrue for the rest of the decade. Today, placing financial advice on the cover of a magazine without proper caution can be misleading and cause outrage in many readers who turn to the magazine for advice.
GQ- March 1990
In their March 1990 issue, GQ released their magazine with headlines on the cover reading “The Allure of Southern Women” and “Get Fit with Top Volleyball Stars” to get readers interested in reading about women and how to get in shape. These headlines on magazine covers would spark outrage in many readers who may get offended by stories that talk about how some women may be better than others and how achieving a particular body shape is ideal for aesthetic reasons.
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Alanna Rosen is an experienced content writer that focuses on many finance and educational content. Her articles are regularly published on Web3Tribe and syndicated on large publications.