Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour recently predicted that Melania Trump and other pro-Trump conservative women will never be on the magazine’s cover again.
By: Harry Cherry
“You have to stand up for what you believe in, you have to take a point of view,” Wintour told CNN. “I don’t think you can try to please everyone all the time.”
Wintour’s comments have caused backlash and outrage among mainstream conservative circles.
Democratic women such as former First Lady’s Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton as well as 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., have been featured on the front page of the magazine.
Former Republican First Lady’s such as Laura Bush and Barbara Bush have also been profiled in the magazine, however, they weren’t featured on the front cover.
Adult Film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, also has been featured on the magazine’s front cover.
Ms. Daniels retained famed attorney Michael Avenatti and sued President Donald Trump over a non-disclosure agreement, which she claimed was invalid because it was never signed by Mr. Trump himself.
Mr. Avenatti has faced three criminal indictments in recent weeks; one in New York and two in Los Angeles. In New York, Mr. Avenatti was charged with attempting to extort Nike for over $20 million dollars. In California, Mr. Avenatti was charged with Bank Fraud, Tax Evasion, and Wire Fraud. If convicted on all counts, Mr. Avenatti faces the prospect of hundreds of years in prison.
“A lawyer has a basic duty not to steal from his client,” the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California said last month. “Mr. Avenatti is facing serious criminal charges alleging he misappropriated client trust funds for his personal use and he defrauded a bank by submitting phony tax returns in order to obtain millions of dollars in loans.”
“As alleged, Avenatti used illegal and extortionate threats for the purpose of obtaining millions of dollars in payments from a public company. Calling this anticipated payout a retainer or a settlement doesn’t change what it was – a shakedown,” Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, said following Mr. Avenatti’s arrest. “When lawyers use their law licenses as weapons, as a guise to extort payments for themselves, they are no longer acting as attorneys. They are acting as criminals, and they will held responsible for their conduct.”
“We profile women in the magazine that we believe in the stand that they are taking on issue,” Wintour told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
“If you’re talking about the first lady [Michelle Obama] or Senator [Kamala] Harris, obviously these are women that we feel are icons and inspiring to women from a global perspective,” Wintour added, according to Fox News. “I also feel even more strongly now that this is not a time to try — and I think one has to be fair, one has to look at all sides — but I don’t think it’s a moment not to take a stand.”
“To be on the cover of Vogue doesn’t define Mrs. Trump, she’s been there, done that long before she was first lady,” Melanie Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement. “Her role as first lady of the United States and all that she does is much more important than some superficial photo shoot and cover.”
“This just further demonstrates how biased the fashion magazine industry is, and shows how insecure and small-minded Anna Wintour really is,” Grisham added. “Unfortunately, Mrs. Trump is used to this kind of divisive behavior.”
