Stunning Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue Features Several Black Actors On Cover
Vanity Fair has released the cover of their 20th annual Hollywood issue. It was posted online to US Weekly on February 3, 2014. The issue features 12 performers in total, 6 of which are notable Black actors and actresses. The outside cover features 2014 Oscar nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) and Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), while the inside cover features 2014 Oscar snubs including Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station),  Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), and Chadwick Boseman (42).
The accepted belief in Hollywood has long been that Black actors don’t sell to White audiences. As a result, a mainstream magazine cover featuring a Black celebrity typically comes once a year depending on the publication. Usually it is an international superstar like Beyonce occupying the space. The 2014 Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue cover has taken a big step allowing 6 Black actors, some lesser known, to shine in a year where Leonardo Di Caprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Matthew McConaughey could have displaced them with no repercussions.  It will be interesting to see whether this issue sells more or less copies than the typical issue. Perhaps diversity is coming into style.
