Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Rolling Stone cover is unsettling — if you didn’t recognize the face of the man friends called “Jahar” from news stories earlier this year, you might be tricked into believing he was a scruffy singer-songwriter with a guitar.
The Tsarnaev Rolling Stone cover is much like many of their iconic photo shoots, ones that graced the bedroom walls of teens for decades as they idolized our idols in often seminal images.
What makes the Tsarnaev Rolling Stone cover different, of course, is that instead of featuring Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, or Jay-Z, the shaggy haired and dreamy-eyed “idol” on this one is not a rockstar but, as the mag titles the cover, “The Bomber.”
Over on Facebook, readers are livid, with one fan writing “been a subscriber since 1982 – cancelling tonight. I am beyond words… ” Another fumes:
Wow, putting this guy on the cover of a pop culture magazine in a Jim Morrison pose? Way to perpetuate the notion that crimes on this level will [garner] attention for sociopaths who are out to seek it. This is sickening… “
But it’s not just subscribers angered by the Tsarnaev Rolling Stone cover — celebrities are also taking the mag to task for the jarring editorial decision:
Really @RollingStone ? Wtff!!! pic.twitter.com/kpAPZKt3Oc
— T O M M Y L E E (@MrTommyLand) July 17, 2013
disgusting!!! this is exactly why these fuck heads commit terrorism so they can get the recognition they so desire. http://t.co/8iTWqQp41A
— Jack Osbourne (@MrJackO) July 17, 2013
You always think as an artist “If I ever get on the Rolling Stone I’ll know I’ve made it!” That was until they started promoting terrorists.
— John Rich (@johnrich) July 17, 2013
wow. @RollingStone decided to put the Boston bomber on its cover. So now he’s a rockstar?? I’m sure the victims are loving that. #Pathetic
— OneRepublic (@OneRepublic) July 17, 2013
Do you think the Tsarnaev Rolling Stone cover is too edgy even for the traditionally limits-pushing publication?