Annie Leibovitz Catches Heat for Anne Hathaway Vogue Photo Shoot
The world’s most successful photographer Annie Leibovitz is no stranger to controversy, and she is once again splitting opinion over her recent Vogue cover shoot with Anne Hathaway.
The cover photo and the pictures inside the famous fashion magazine received fierce criticism from fans online who mainly seemed to be upset about the color.
Leibovitz was shooting Hathaway for an article that is promoting the actress’s new film Mother Mary, a melodrama about a pop diva. The photos cover nine looks from Sarah Burton’s debut Givenchy collection and Leibovitz posed the actress next to famous American artworks from the Whitney Museum.
“Can someone please get Annie [Leibovitz] a new colorist,” writes Liam Haehnle beneath Vogue’s post in a comment that received almost 200 likes. “What the hell is going on with the edit on these images?”
“Anne’s fight against lighting is still ongoing, I see,” writes one Reddit user in a comment that got over 700 upvotes.
Some of the comments are personal, with critics calling for Leibovitz to “retire” and urging Vogue to stop hiring her in favor of fresh talent. A number of fans on Reddit said they’re “sick of Annie Leibovitz” and are eager for “new eyes and perspectives” from lesser-known photographers.
Leibovitz, a long-standing collaborator with Vogue, has been at the center of various controversies in recent years — including photos of gymnast Simone Biles and her photos of the Zelesnky’s.
That said, the fact that her work consistently sparks conversation is undoubtedly a boon for Vogue, which depends on relevance and cultural currency to thrive. According to a Bored Panda poll, most readers actually liked the Anne Hathaway cover.
“It feels like people don’t like the photographs because Anne isn’t smiling,” one commenter notes. “These images feel like they are fashion photographs, and it is not at all common for models to be smiling.”
Image credits: Photographs by Annie Leibovitz / Vogue
