‘Bachelor’ Contestant’s Magazine Cover Canceled Due to ‘White Lives Matter’ Controversy
Just in case you haven't seen this week's episode of 'The Bachelor,' this will contain some spoilers.
If you tuned in with the rest of Bachelor Nation on Monday night (Feb. 3), you would have seen Peter Weber and a group of his Bachelor girlfriends doing a swimsuit photo shoot in Costa Rica with Cosmopolitan magazine.
And at the end of this group date, Victoria Ford won the chance to be on the digital cover of the women's magazine alongside Weber. And while many of us were waiting to see what the final photo would look like, Cosmo decided to cancel the cover altogether after finding out that Victoria previously modeled for a "White Lives Matter" ad campaign.
While it was reported that the brand was actually for a "Marlin Lives Matter" organization that is fighting against the over-fishing of blue and white marlins, the magazine felt that the group's "phrases and the belief systems they represent are rooted in racism and therefore problematic."
"Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand," Jessica Pels, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, posted on the magazine's website. "We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color."
She also added, "My team and I had many long discussions about how we wanted to address this issue. We’d already printed the fashion shoot in our March issue, complete with an inset of the cover, and of course the episode had already been filmed. Ultimately what felt right was choosing not to publish the digital cover on our website or social feeds, and simply being honest with you, the audience we respect, about what happened and where we stand."
Instead of featuring the photo on the Cosmo site, the editorial team posted an interview with Weber along with other photos that were taken during that photo shoot.
Ford and Weber haven't commented on the situation.