Backlash! Controversy Over Beyonce Cover!!

[Alynetta Beck]

Sports Illustrated is facing a backlash over its new Swimsuit Edition. According to reports, a number of models are privately upset that Beyonce, a singer, was chosen as this year's cover girl.

And the tension appears to be growing. An insider at a prominent New York modeling agency told MediaTakeOut.com exactly how she felt about the decision. She explained, "The cover spot is supposed to go to the top model in the industry. This year it went Beyonce. It's an insult ... There isn't a model alive that doesn’t find [Sports Illustrated's] choice offensive."


And it's not just angry supermodels that the magazine has to contend with. Some Sports Illustrated readers are also upset with the new issue. But these readers aren't just upset with Beyonce - they're upset with the number of Black artists featured in the magazine. The new issue, which also features Kanye West and Cee-Lo from Gnarls Barkley, is being referred to on sports message boards as the "Ghetto issue."


And those angry readers are taking their complaints directly to the magazine. Tells one magazine employee, "The calls are nonstop ... Some of these guys have been subscribing to Sports Illustrated for years just so they can get the Swimsuit Issue before it hits the stands. This is like blasphemy to most of them who don't know who Beyonce or Kanye are.”


So far Sports Illustrated has refused to comment on this brewing controversy.