A Vogue photoshoot featuring the world-renowned Olympic gold medalist Simeone Biles has come under scrutiny for featuring badly lit photos of the 23-year-old gymnast.
The photos were taken by the acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz but many including the including The New York Times national picture editor Morrigan McCarthy felt that the pictures did a disservice to Blies as she was dimly lit on dull backgrounds which didn't display any of the vibrancy and energy that she displays when competing in her chosen sport.
McCarthy was particularly critical highlighting problems with the tone of the photos and the crop and calling on Vogue to hire a Black photographer.
I adore Simone Biles and am thrilled she’s on this cover... but I hate these photos. I hate the toning, I hate how… https://t.co/nZOO4GBFcc— Morrigan McCarthy (@Morrigan McCarthy) 1594326328
Others echoed her thoughts, with some using examples of other photographers who have taken pictures of Black and shown their skin tone to it's fullest potential.
Simone Biles deserved better than Annie Leibovitz bad lighting. https://t.co/I7SvmCmKJP— Britni Danielle (@Britni Danielle) 1594419262
simone biles shot by annie leibovitz, a professional photographer gabrielle union shot by zaya wade, a child https://t.co/qHOKWla4JJ— allison | abolish the police (@allison | abolish the police) 1594396158
Facts. Vogue, August 2020 by Annie Leibovitz Dana Scruggs 📸 work on the right Michaela Coel Essence, April 2019… https://t.co/k5MyfKIx8r— Joshua Kissi (@Joshua Kissi) 1594316521
@StandUpWoke @BritniDWrites The lighting mattes her skin down and washes her out. Here is a photo by James Macari t… https://t.co/04wxLEUL2R— Lissa/Elisabeth Reed 🏳️🌈 (@Lissa/Elisabeth Reed 🏳️🌈) 1594429467
After all the Black talent jumping out with #VogueChallenge, Vogue couldn’t idk hire a Black photographer to shoot… https://t.co/HIvrNpaaij— Polly Irungu (@Polly Irungu) 1594316362
This @Simone_Biles shoot was great but again, I’m disappointed at how many professional photographers don’t know ho… https://t.co/aSz0e7YW5Q— Nowlen Webb (@Nowlen Webb) 1594415204
If a black photo editor did Simone Biles' Vogue cover: By whoinvitedkharisma on IG https://t.co/dGPJ6455ii— Jessica Jawns (@Jessica Jawns) 1594423192
Others chose to defend Leibovitz and pointed out that this wasn't necessarily a profile on Biles and her incredible achievements but a more troubling story on Larry Nassar, a former USA gymnastics doctor who abused Biles as well as hundreds of other female gymnasts for decades before being jailed in January 2018 for 40 to 125 years in prison for three counts of criminal sexual conduct. The case against Nassar is told in the Netflix documentary Athlete A which does not feature Biles however during her interview with Vogue she said:
I was very depressed. At one point I slept so much because, for me, it was the closest thing to death without harming myself. It was an escape from all of my thoughts, from the world, from what I was dealing with. It was a really dark time.