Kamala Harris Vogue cover sparks backlash, criticism

Ahead of Inauguration Day, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made her debut on the cover of Vogue magazine’s February issue.

Vogue featured two cover images on Instagram on Sunday. In one, Harris poses in front of golden drapery and dons a powder blue power suit and pearls; in the other, she is seen posing against pink and green drapery, wearing a more casual look of a black blazer and Converse sneakers.

“Vice President-elect @kamalaharris is our February cover star!” Vogue wrote on Instagram. “Making history was the first step. Now @kamalaharris has an even more monumental task: to help heal a fractured America.”

The photos were taken by Tyler Mitchell, the same photographer who shot Beyonce’s Vogue cover in 2018 and Zendaya’s Vogue cover photos in 2019.

While many were glad to see Harris on the cover, some criticized the magazine for styling Harris in Converse shoes and slammed the photo for looking like an amateur snapshot.

But Vogue, in a statement, said it “felt the more informal image captured Vice President-elect Harris’ authentic, approachable nature -- which we feel is one of the hallmarks of the Biden/Harris administration. To respond to the seriousness of this moment in history, and the role she has to play leading our country forward, we’re celebrating both images of her as covers digitally.”

In the cover story written by Alexis Okeowo, Harris’ life story is outlined, including her days as a young girl growing up in Berkeley, California, where she was surrounded by her politically active parents, aunts and uncles. From there, it covers her days as the attorney general of California and her journey on the campaign trail running for president, eventually joining President-elect Joe Biden as his running mate.

Along with the portraits, the story features photos of Harris as a child with her parents, and also a photo with her husband, Douglas Emhoff, on their wedding day in 2014 in Santa Barbara, California.

In the story, Harris talks about the goals she and Biden have for their first 100 days in office. At the top of their list is to get control of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 373,000 Americans.

“We think about the first 100 days in terms of what we need to do to support mayors and governors and local officials around their distribution and their public health systems,” Harris said. “When we get control of this pandemic, that’s going to be a critical factor in being able to reopen our economy.”

ABC News' Averi Harper contributed to this report.