When I first saw the April edition of Vogue, I was disappointed. The cover features Kim Kardashian in an extravagant Lanvin wedding gown with her fiancé, Kanye West, standing behind her with his arms around her. 

Vogue’s decision to put Kardashian and West on the cover was obviously based only on how many issues would sell and the attention it would get. 

Vogue gives Kardashian high praise in this issue. She is described in the article as being “an astute businesswoman,” and her looks are compared to Ava Gardner and Sophia Loren. 

This is a woman who made a name for herself by being in a sex tape and appearing with her family on a trashy reality-television show. Labeling her as a businesswoman and comparing her looks to iconic Hollywood women are far-fetched exaggerations. 

Vogue editor Anna Wintour defended the decision to put the couple on the cover in her letter from the editor. In it, she says, “Part of the pleasure of editing Vogue, one that lies in a long tradition of this magazine, is being able to feature those who define the culture at any given moment, who stir things up, whose presence in the world shapes the way it looks and influences the way we see it.”

To me, this comes across as Vogue picking the most controversial couple that is at the center of the public eye simply to make money.

In an interview with Us Weekly promoting her Sears fashion line with her sisters, Kardashian said, “I dress for my man way more than for myself!”

Every issue has a section titled “Vogue point of view.” In it, new trends are often talked about, and the inspiration for the photo shoots that follow is discussed. For this issue, it is titled “Our bodies, ourselves,” and says, “Everyone knows—and just in case, soap and cereal companies are constantly reminding us—that a woman’s happiness has a lot to do with how comfortable she is in her own skin.”

Yet, on the cover is a woman who said she’s dressing for her husband, not herself. That seems to be contradictory to the type of woman Vogue says people should aspire to be. I like the “point of view” section for this issue and wish the woman chosen for the cover was someone who has an independent, unique style suited to her personality.

On Keeping up with the Kardashians, West is shown making a deal with Kardashian about her clothes. If she throws her current wardrobe away, he’ll buy her a completely new wardrobe. In a shot of her looking at herself in the mirror, he calls her “New Kim.” It’s concerning to see Vogue giving this couple a cover photo of West possessively holding Kardashian when he already does controlling things, such as choosing her clothing.

“As for the cover, my opinion is that it is both charming and touching and it was, I should add, entirely our idea to do it,” Wintour said. 

There isn’t anything “charming and touching” about the cover photo, especially when you consider how West has been changing Kardashian. 

Twitter blew up with tweets from angry Vogue subscribers. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar tweeted, “Well……I guess I’m canceling my Vogue subscription. Who is with me???” So far, the tweet has received more than 14,000 favorites. 

After seeing this cover and reading what supposedly is Vogue’s message for readers in its “point of view” column, I consider this April’s edition a bad April Fool’s joke.