Olena Zelenska's Vogue cover sparks backlash
Right-wing politicians in the US criticize the cover
shoot featuring the Ukrainian first lady, while Ukrainians say they need the
publicity to fight Russia.
https://www.dw.com/en/olena-zelenskas-vogue-cover-sparks-backlash/a-62628772
Olena
Zelenska, the wife of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was a comedy scriptwriter who
preferred to stay behind the scenes until her husband became president and she
became first lady.
In 2019,
she reluctantly did her first Vogue Magazine shoot and this month, in the wake
of Russia's invasion of her country, she is the subject of a cover story for
the same magazine.
Titled
"Portrait of Bravery," the cover sees Zelenska sitting hunched on a
stair in an unremarkable outfit and with flat shoes. It is one of several
images shot by star photographer Annie Leibovitz that include pictures of the
first lady with her husband, and amid sandbags and a destroyed aircraft.
"These
have been the most horrible months of my life, and the lives of every
Ukrainian," she told the magazine. "Frankly I don't think anyone is
aware of how we have managed emotionally."
But the day
after the cover story was published, a host of conservative politicians and
pundits in the US and beyond ignited a social media storm over the images.
"While
we send Ukraine $60 billion in aid Zelenskyy is doing photoshoots for Vogue
Magazine," tweeted far-right Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert.
"These people think we are nothing but a bunch of suckers."
There is no
proof that the Vogue shoot was paid for with the weapons money, but that did
not stop a wave of recriminations framed within an ongoing culture war between
the right and pro-Ukraine liberals.
"I
don't remember Saddam Hussein's wife being on the cover of Vogue when Iraq was
illegally invaded," stated another tweet.
Some were
more subtle in their critique, believing the stylized images were not good
publicity for the Ukraine cause.
"The
Vogue cover for Zelensky is the first genuine PR misstep I've seen him
make," read one tweet. "Five months into a war and only one
propaganda miscalculation is good, he's pretty much landed everything
else."
Keeping global focus on an ongoing war
But many
supported the Ukrainian first couple's decision to do the Vogue cover.
"It's
nice to see the far left and far right united in losing their minds over the
first lady of Ukraine raising greater awareness of the genocide in her country
with a Vogue cover," tweeted Andrea Chalupa, a US journalist, author and
co-host of the Gaslit Nation politics podcast.
Ukrainian
Melaniya Podolyak, who covers the war in social media, called much of the
criticism "westsplaining."
"I
love the pictures," read another tweet. "They show Ukraine's fight
for survival and freedom. I think it's important to show this to the world, so
that they won't forget this fight and help your beautiful country. And that is
the goal of these powerful pictures."
"Ukraine
is doing everything it can to keep Western focus on the tragedy unfolding in
their country and for the Western public to keep supporting weapon shipments to
Kyiv. People who complain about Olena Zelenska's Vogue shoot don't understand
why she did it," tweeted news aggregator Visegrad 24.
Indeed,
Zelenska's mission to raise awareness extended to a recent unannounced trip to
Washington.
"I'm
asking for something I would never want to ask for: I am asking for weapons —
weapons that would not be used to wage a war on somebody else's land but to
protect one's home and the right to wake up alive in that home," she said
in an address to the US Congress last week.
A woman
stands behind a mic and is backgrounded by the Ukraine flag
Olena
Zelenska addressed members of the US Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on
July 20
An empowered female leader
Val Voshchevska,
a self-described digital creator and Ukrainian activist and organizer, on
Instagram described the cover as "an iconic feminist photo."
"Ever
thought you'd see a First Lady WOMAN spreading like a boss on the cover of a
magazine," she asked. Providing an in-depth explainer of the cover photo,
she described how Zelenska sits on the stairs without striking a pose, simply
being herself.
"The
lack of heavy photoshop, layers of fancy make-up, perfect hair," make
Zelenska "come across as a real person," she wrote.
"With
this one photo, Olena destroys the sexist expectations that a First Lady needs
to be an impeccable Stepford wife."
"Wow
Olena Zelenska and Annie Liebovitz - you smashed it," Voshchevska
concluded.
Romanian-German
novelist Herta Müller has said that women expressing their individuality
through make-up and fashion has been a means to maintain dignity during war and
under oppressive regimes. "This is about dignity," said the Nobel
Prize for Literature winner, who endured harassment from the Romanian secret
service. "If you give yourself away, then of course you no longer have any
dignity."
Müller is
quoted in the book "Ein Hauch von Lippenstift für die Würde" ("A
Touch of Lipstick for Dignity") by Henriette Schroeder, which shows how
women in the Balkan wars, or living under dictatorships in China and Iran, have
maintained their femininity as a symbol of dignity and resistance.
For some,
the Ukrainian first lady is seen as part of this tradition.
"The
'outrage' over this shoot is just plain old sexism," read one tweet.
"It's a Vogue profile on Olena and the incredible work she is doing for
her country. She's helping keep Ukraine in people's minds and hearts. Also,
it's a beautiful picture of strength, resilience, and love."
Controversy over Ukraine presidential couple's
Vogue photoshoot
By Sophia
Khatsenkova & Isabella Jewell • Updated:
28/07/2022 - 21:43
Olena
Zelenska in Washington
The
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's latest media appearance with first lady,
Olena Zelenska, has split opinion, with many claiming the images shot for Vogue
magazine undermine the severity of the war.
Information
has been a key weapon in Russia's war on Ukraine, with both sides running
extensive media campaigns to garner support.
The
Ukrainian president has harnessed the power of social media throughout the war,
posting regular selfie video updates on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
The
striking photographs by legendary US photographer Annie Leibovitz are accompanied
by a written feature, Portrait of Bravery: Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena
Zelenska.
Rachel
Donadio's article reflects on the emotional toll of the war on Ukrainians, and
Olena Zelenska's struggles to adapt to suddenly being thrust "centre stage
in a tragedy".
However,
some users took to Twitter to question the seriousness of the Ukrainian
president, suggesting his battle to protect the country is a front.
US
politicians have also weighed into the online debate, criticising the military
aid sent to Ukraine.
Lauren
Boebert, a Republican politician and avid gun supporter, said that Zelenskyy
had taken her country's citizens as "a bunch of suckers".
Others
simply found the Vogue cover to be in poor taste, given the nature of the
glossy high fashion magazine, compared to the gruelling reality of life for
Ukrainians on the ground or those fleeing the worn-torn country.
Professor
Anjana Susarla from Michigan State University has studied Zelenskyy's
communication tactics over the past five months. She argues that his self-shot
video messages were succeeding in rallying support for Ukraine.
“It was
someone we could relate to. He looks like any of us and sounds like any of us.
That’s what made it so powerful," she said. "The authenticity and
immediacy of his messaging were extremely effective in bringing in
international support."
Speaking to
Euronews, she added: "The contrast between 'I am one of you' versus
suddenly 'also I have time to do these glamourous things'... I can see why that
would be upsetting to people because suddenly the contrast is too
jarring."
“The First
Lady is dressed in fashionable clothes. And it’s difficult to connect this with
the previous raw message that there’s a war going on," she continued.
The photo
series, however, does have its supporters.
Many of
them argue that Zelenskyy's role is to raise awareness about the war and keep
coverage of Ukraine in the mainstream media, meaning a PR stunt like this one
is important.
On Twitter,
one user posted that in times of war, "you use every single means of
getting the word out", while another argued that "keeping Ukraine in
the news is vital for his war effort".
Paul Booth,
professor of political communications at Chicago's DePaul University believes
that it is a good PR move.
He told
Euronews: "The trouble with anything that's PR-related, or anything that
looks like it's being generated for attention, is that people won't be able to
see through that and think that it's just a superficial appearance, which I
don't think this was.
"I
think this was a meaningful moment in Zelenskyy's social media profile, he's
using his celebrity for an important effect," he added
Executive
editor of New Voice Ukraine, Nika Melkozerova, tweeted that the social media
discourse about the Vogue shoot is in a patronising tone, and reveals a lack of
understanding about the nature of war.
"The
fact that Ukrainians continue to live and fight at the same time is strange for
those, who have never seen war, they see it like a movie," she said.
"They think that joy is impossible during war and that real people fight
only like they saw fighting in [the film Saving] Private Ryan."
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