2brwngrls:

Open Letter to Vanity Fair,

Okay, let’s get something straight. Your editorial team sucks. Like, sucks. You guys continue to not get it, and it’s really, really sad because you’re Vanity Fair (though that’s not saying a whole lot), not some dingy, classless-ass magazine. We look at this magazine cover, and we ask ourselves a few questions: WHERE IS MINDY KALING? WHERE IS AZIZ ANSARI? WHERE IS ISSA RAE? WHERE IS RETTA? WHERE ARE KEY & PEELE? WHERE IS DONALD GLOVER, DANI PUDI, YVETTE NICOLE BROWN? They are all performers  who are just as relevant, if not more so, than Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey - AND HILARIOUS ONES AT THAT.

Of course, we’re not all that surprised. You’ve had a history of these shitty covers, Vanity Fair (see: every Hollywood Issue ever) - covers that not only uphold your lily-white ideal that usually spills over into your pages, but covers that celebrate performers who are not even what’s hot right now. In 2010, you did an issue on the “Fresh Faces” of the year which featured Abbie Cornish, Kristen Stewart, and Carey Mulligan on the cover - despite the fact that that year Gabourey Sidibe had just made her amazing debut in Precious. Guess “Fresh Faced” in your vocabulary only means skinny and white.

In this comedy issue, you’ve got Leslie Mann in a bikini and body paint, Megan Fox in a sexy bell-hop costume, Kristen Wiig in a slinky cut-out dress, Amy Poehler serving us leg, and of course, Melissa McCarthy, the “fat one,” regulated to the background in an unflattering pose and an unflattering costume. And sure, you think you’ve filled your quota of brown people with Maya Rudolph and Chris Rock (who we love), but their presence makes us wonder — are these the only POC comedians you could think of?

Where’s the new blood? Maybe your covers would actually be appealing if you showed us that you were aware of popular culture? It’s a given that you (and most other magazines out there) need MORE people of color on your fucking covers, stat, (instead of using them as bloody random space fillers), but Jesus, be a little less obvious about it! It’s worrying that you seem to be perpetuating this idea that Judd Apatow and Amy Poehler (who we really do like), are somehow the past, present, and future of comedy, when there are so many other things going on. This is important to us because representation leads to a little more awareness, you know?

So, we cool?

Sincerely,

Fariha and Zeba

This is ridiculous. Especially when you consider the fact that Jim Carrey* hasn’t done anything this year and Mindy Kaling, Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele were all just nominated for writer guild awards. 

(Source: 30rockasaurus, via gambinogirls)