An American magazine devoted to music, pop culture and politics is being widely condemned for putting a photo of the surviving Boston bombing suspect on the cover of its latest issue.
Rolling Stone’s decision to show Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of its Aug. 1 edition sparked outrage on social media, where thousands of people complained and accused the magazine of glamorizing the terror suspect.
Even Boston Mayor Thomas Menino weighed in, writing a letter to the magazine's publisher to express his displeasure with the decision.
"Your August 3 cover rewards a (suspected) terrorist with celebrity treatment," the letter says. "It is ill-conceived at best and reaffirms a terrible message that destruction gains fame for killers and their "causes"."
(To read the mayor's full letter click here.)
The widespread reaction prompted the editors of the magazine to post a statement on its website Wednesday afternoon, explaining their reasons for publishing the story but not the reason for putting the alleged murderer on the cover.
"Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and our thougts are always with them and their familes," the statement says. "The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone's long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young and in the same age group as many of our readers, make it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens."
The cover is a close-up of Tsarnaev with his hair curly and unkempt – a photo that he shared online before his arrest and was used by several media outlets when he was named as a suspect – under the headline “The Bomber.”
The image accompanies a cover story by contributing editor Janet Reitman, who investigated the 19-year-old’s life leading up to his arrest.
Amid the backlash, at least one company announced Wednesday that it is refusing to sell the Aug. 1 issue in its stores.
New England-based CVS Caremark has about 7,400 stores under the CVS Pharmacy brand, making it one of the largest pharmacy chains in the U.S.
"As a company with deep roots in New England and a strong presence in Boston, we believe this is the right decision out of respect for the victims of the attack and their loved one," CVS Caremark told CP24 in a written statement.
After the cover was posted on Rolling Stone’s Facebook page Tuesday, people slammed the magazine with expletive-filled posts, and vowed to cancel their subscriptions or boycott it altogether.
Online, people used words such as “sick,” “classless” and “tasteless” to describe the cover.
Facebook user Jenna DeMato, who hails from Boston, suggested the magazine pay tribute to the victims of twin explosions that killed three people and wounded more than 260 at the Boston Marathon finish line April 15.
“I personally know people who were directly injured... Thanks for adding even more insult to injury!” DeMato wrote on Rolling Stone’s Facebook page.
In his entry, Shawn Anthony said the magazine made a mistake.
“I think it's wrong to make celebrities out of these people. Why give the guy the cover of Rolling Stone?” Anthony asked.
Cindra Tardif vowed to boycott the magazine: “I have enjoyed your magazine up until now. I will no longer buy/read the mag. You have just made him a ‘rock star.’ How could you?”
Some people weren’t deterred by the cover or the controversy surrounding it.
“One of the reasons I love @RollingStone is because of the controversial articles and covers. I can't wait to buy the new issue,” tweeted a reader named Margaret Bishop.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the image has generated more than 14,000 comments and more than 1,400 "likes" on Rolling Stone's Facebook profile, and the term "Rolling Stone" has been a worldwide trend on Twitter as people comment on and share the story.
This isn’t the first time controversy has swirled around Rolling Stone for one of its covers. The magazine faced criticism when mass murderer Charles Manson was featured on its June 1970 cover.
Tsarnaev, meanwhile, faces 30 federal charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill. He is also charged in the slaying of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus police officer.
The Russian immigrant and former college student could get the death penalty, if convicted
His older brother and co-accused, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died in a gun battle with police several days after the bombing. After a days-long manhunt, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in a boat in a backyard in a Boston suburb.
With files from The Associated Press.
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