Kendall Jenner is facing an online backlash for fronting a special edition of Vogue India. It's the latest in a string of missteps for the American model who came under fire for her appearance in a controversial Pepsi commercial and more recently, for the promotion of the ill-fated Fyre Festival.
Kim Kardashian's sister is now under fire for her Vogue India cover shoot for the 10th anniversary of the publication, which was unveiled on Wednesday due to readers complaining they would have preferred an Indian celebrity or model in her place.
Kendall Jenner has caused controversy for appearing on the front cover of Vogue India's anniversary issue
"Looks like there are not enough Indian models to celebrate your anniversary. Pity," one user vented on an image of the cover posted on Vogue India's Instagram page, while another questioned, "She is beautiful but I'm pretty sure in a county of over 1 billion they could have found an Indian! If they want international phenomena Priyanka (Chopra) and Deepika (Padukone) are huge right now."
The cover shot was taken by photographer Mario Testino at the Samode Palace in Jaipur, India, and shows the 21-year-old clad in a lace Saint Laurent dress. Perhaps aware of the online discussion, Kendall is yet to post an image of the cover on her social media pages.
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Mario also guest-edited the issue, and included photographs of Bollywood icons, Katrina Kaif and Sushant Singh Rajput, within the spread. The famous photographer worked with artists Mithu Sen and Thukral & Tagra on the project, and spoke of his respect and enthusiasm for the Indian culture in a previously released statement about the shoot.
"Different elements of India have influenced my world - and in turn this issue," he explained. "It's the people, the art, the colours, the elephants and everything in between. I wanted to bring my world truly to this amazing nation, by shooting the issue in India. I wanted it to stay true to the Indian spirit."
Vogue India editors are yet to comment on the criticism.