Some described Kim as ‘talentless’ and therefore undeserving of her place on the cover of the planet’s most famous fashion magazine. Others simply blasted the decision as ‘tacky.’
Many suggested that it was Kim’s rapper fiancé Kanye West who orchestrated the cover, and that Kim only appeared on the front of the mag on condition that she posed alongside Kanye.
Kim seemed to go along with the popular media mantra of ‘any publicity is good publicity’ as she tweeted in the face of her critics: ‘This is such a dream come true!!! Thank you @VogueMagazine for this cover! O M GGGGGG!!! I can't even breath [sic]’
‘OMG’ indeed, Kimmy…
But has the world’s most famous high-brow fashion magazine sold out?
Lets remind ourselves of how we came to know Kim Kardashian.
Daughter of a wealthy LA based lawyer, Kim became a familiar face in the tabloids by rubbing shoulders with the likes of hotel heiress Paris Hilton, only to shoot to stardom when she appeared in leaked sex tape with her ex-boyfriend, Ray J.
Despite attempting to sue the distributor of the sex tape, Kim eventually dropped the lawsuit and reportedly settled outside of court in a $5 million deal.
That $5 million would go on to become pocket money compared to the fortune she (along with the rest of the Kardashian clan) has amassed off the back of her sex tape notoriety.
Stars who have graced Vogue covers passed include the likes of Academy Award winning actress Kate Winslet, platinum selling pop superstar Katy Perry and First Lady Michelle Obama. Can we honestly say that Kim Kardashian can stand shoulder to shoulder with these inspiring women?
Apparently it's not just Vogue readers who have an issue with Kim and Kanye appearing on the cover.
Respected photographer Anne Leibovitz was called upon to shoot the couple, and she initially refused to photograph the cover.
According to numerous reports, a friend of the world-renowned photographer was quoted as saying: ‘She initially said ‘no’ as she thinks they’re tacky. She’s photographed Queen Elizabeth, for goodness sake!'
‘But the magazine, as well as Kim and Kanye, offered her so much money she couldn’t say no… She isn’t proud of her work – although Annie is fan of Kanye.’
Vogue editor Anna Wintour attempted to silence the critics by writing in her editor’s letter: ‘You may have read that Kanye begged me to put his fiancée on Vogue’s cover… He did nothing of the sort. The gossip might make better reading, but the simple fact of the matter is that it isn’t true.'
Isn’t Vogue, as a high-brow fashion magazine, supposed to be above the gossip?
By addressing it, is Wintour not catering to her critics rather than silencing them?
Really, she should have probably taken the high fashion road.
On the other hand, maybe Anna Wintour is taking a leaf out of Kim’s book and bought into the notion of there being no such thing as bad press.
For every person who announces they will never again purchase a copy of Vogue there is another Kim Kardashian wannabe who will pick up an issue for the first time thanks to Kimye’s faces being printed on the cover.
As a result of putting ‘talentless’ reality star Kim on the cover, the issue is almost guaranteed to be a sell-out. Literally.