Sparks Outrage: Boston Bomber on the Cover of "The Rolling Stone Magazine"

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev covers Rolling Stone's August issue. Complete with signature red lettering, the shaggy-haired alleged bomber is framed by the title of the magazine in an arguably similar manner as the publication's cover subjects since April: Johnny Depp, Seth Rogen and James Franco, Daft Punk, The Rolling Stones, Bruno Mars, Louis C.K. and Jon Hamm.

Tsarnaev isn't a movie star or pop music icon -- he's one of the brothers who allegedly plotted and executed the Boston marathon bombing on April 15. Giving the bomber the similar stylistic treatment as the aforementioned celebs has naturally sparked some outrage at the controversial cover, even if the picture of Tsarnaev itself has appeared on news websites and on the front page of The New York Times.

The cover has drawn comparisons between the magazine's iconic cover of The Doors' Jim Morrison and has reminded others of the 1970 issue where convicted killer Charles Manson covered the publication. The magazine has a long history of deeply reported stories on controversial subjects, but they're sometimes balanced with celebrity covers. (For instance, "The Runaway General," Michael Hastings' 2010 blockbuster story that forced the resignation of the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, wasn't featured on the cover. That was Lady Gaga.)

The Tsarnaev story (not yet online) was authored by contributing editor Janet Reitman, who previously wrote pieces for the magazine including a report on Dartmouth college's hazing practices and an appraisal of the aftermath of the effort to help Haiti rebuild. "Reitman spent the last two months interviewing dozens of sources ... to deliver a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster," reads a preview.

Presumably due to the reaction to the cover image, "Rolling Stone" became a trending topic in the U.S. Wednesday on Twitter. A group on Facebook has amassed nearly 50,000 likes calling for a boycott of the publication, calling the image "unacceptable and a slap in the face for those [Tsarnaev] killed and maimed."

Read More.... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rolling-stones-boston-bomber-cover-587651

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