Vanity Fair publishes one of the most irresponsible covers I have seen

[edhopper]

It's Kylie Jenner, who millions of young people follow. A worldwide "influencer". How blind, unthinking and stupid do the editors have to be to think showing her lighting a cigarette on the cover was anything but a horrible idea?

[Initech]

1. Putting any of these terrible people on the cover is a terrible idea.

So... I don't know?

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Would have worked for People.

[uppityperson]

3. The whole cover looks like a sex parody

Sitting widespread ready to fall backwards, minimal shirt and skin tight pants, "Kylie on top" position, pussy cat, smoking an after sex cigarette. Oh baby! Over the top not subliminal references galore.

[hlthe2b]

7. Yes. I picked up on all that as well.

[PatSeg]

17. Yep, that's how it looks to me

Trying much too hard to be provocative that it comes across as parody. I wonder whose brilliant idea that was.

[canetoad]

19. Yep

Jodhpurs and riding boots.

[GreatGazoo]

4. Is it a cigarette or a pre-roll?

can't see much since the flame is on the way but the article might have context

[jmowreader]

16. It looks a little short to be a tobacco cigarette, so I'm thinking it's a joint

[Ocelot II]

5. I'm so old I don't even know who she is or what's she's famous for,

unless she's just one of those people who are famous for being famous. But I wouldn't worry too much; I doubt many of her fans are readers of Vanity Fair.

[mwmisses4289]

11. Yeah, she's one of those people simply famous

for being rich and famous.
Quite frankly, I really don't give a damn about any of them; there are much better people vanity fair could have put on their cover.

[LoisB]

12. Don't worry, I too, am too old to know who she is.

[PatSeg]

18. We live in an age of celebrities

People who are famous for being famous, but have no redeeming qualities or talents.

As for me, I know the name, but I know nothing about her, probably because there is really nothing to know. I am so tired of all these useless people.

[hlthe2b]

6. That's a bizarre tan she's sporting as well...

I thought for a second, well, she is Armenian, but no, she is not.. The Kardashian sisters are...

So, I guess it is some tanning or tanning product. Her heritage is not that different from my own: English, Irish, Dutch, German, and Scottish roots (her Mom's side) and Canadian, Welsh, English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry on their father's (Bruce/Caitlin).

Do I care, Not particularly. I just think it unusual to have her smoking and tan enough to appear ethnically distinct from that which she is. But, hey, it is the Jenner/Kardashian clan, so...

[BannonsLiver]

8. Eh hard to get too worked up over that in this day and age.

Though the Kardashians are worthless scumbag grifters, the whole lot of them, so I can see that angle.

[kysrsoze]

9. Modern blackfacing/blackfishing. I wonder if it was Vanity Fair's idea or hers? Pathetic family.

Doing whatever they can to pimp themselves out.

[Quiet Em]

10. This is a classic cigarette ad. Are cigarette ads no longer banned?

A cigarette ad to make smoking appear glamorous, sexy, cool. This is exactly how cigarettes have been advertised historically. I have no doubt it will be effective in getting some young girls and women to try smoking. Awful cover.

[cynical_idealist]

13. Editors are saying: "We are all whores and proud of it"

[TheProle]

14. Newsweek: Smoking Is Cool Again Among Gen Z

https://www.newsweek.com/gen-z-social-media-celebrities-cigarette-smoking-11149726

Axios: https://www.axios.com/2025/11/29/smoking-cigarettes-trend-generation-z

The big picture: Something's shifted. Young people are talking up smoking again, and celebrities are casually lighting up on screen. Experts worry that they're not paying attention to the dangers of addiction.

- Films and TV shows are bringing cigarettes back as props, too, making them en vogue once again.

- More than half of the top box-office films released in 2024 featured tobacco imagery — marking a 10 percentage point jump from the year before, according to a report from public health nonprofit Truth Initiative and NORC at the University of Chicago

You'd be hard-pressed to miss cigarettes across pop culture.

- Dakota Johnson lights up in the dramedy "The Materialists." The chefs on "The Bear" smoke regularly, with season 3 featuring Carmy's efforts to quit.

- Sabrina Carpenter takes a puff a cigarette with a fork in her "Manchild" music video.

-The Instagram account Cigfluencers posts old and new photos of celebs — including Charli xcx, Natalie Portman and Leo DiCaprio — taking drags.

[newdeal2]

15. I don't care

Tell me when the felon rapist is no longer in the White House. That's a bigger threat to young kids.

[LisaL]

20. Smoking can cause a wide range of health problems.

So promoting it is extremely irresponsible.

[BigmanPigman]

21. Good thing I stopped reading VF years ago or I'd be canceling

my subscription right now.

It is a rich celebrity rag at this point. They've lost all credibility a looooong time ago. It's a shame since they used to be fairly good.

[Renew Deal]

22. Smoking is increasingly back in pop culture

There are other examples. It will be interesting to see if the numbers start moving.