Cosmopolitan Pulls ‘Bachelor’ Cover After Model Wore ‘White Lives Matter’ Slogan In Campaign
Victoria Fuller, who was slated to grace the cover of Cosmopolitan, will no longer be involved in the magazine’s next digital issue after she was allegedly linked to a clothing brand that sold apparel featuring the words “White Lives Matter.”
Last month, it surfaced that Fuller had once modeled for a “Marlin Lives Matter” ad campaign and wore clothing featuring the “WLM” slogan.
“Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand,” Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Jessica Pels wrote in a letter from the editor published online Monday night (February 3). “We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color.”
She continued, “When my team and I flew down to Costa Rica for our challenge, we weren’t told who our models were going to be. We didn’t even meet them until we were all on camera on-set, ready to start our shoot. So when it came time for me to choose the winner of the challenge—whose prize was a digital cover of Cosmo—all I knew about the contestants were their first names and the energy they conveyed through the camera lens. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I found out that the woman I’d chosen had, in her past, modeled in an ad campaign wearing White Lives Matter attire.”
She also added, “My team and I had many long discussions about how we wanted to address this issue. We’d already printed the fashion shoot in our March issue, complete with an inset of the cover, and of course, the episode had already been filmed. Ultimately, what felt right was choosing not to publish the digital cover on our website or social feeds, and simply being honest with you, the audience we respect, about what happened and where we stand.”
While the publication pulled the cover, some of Fuller’s photos from the shoot will still appear on Cosmo’s website. They were one of several outlets to report on Fuller’s reported modeling campaign last month.
Today reported back in 2016 that the modeling was reportedly affiliated with the White Marlin Marina, which has been using the phrases “White Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” to promote the conservation of certain types of fish, including white marlin.