When Radhika Jones took over from Graydon Carter’s editorship of Vanity Fair last March, it ushered in the ringing in of a new guard. Jones championed “the importance of championing women, new voices, people who come from a wide range of ethnicities and backgrounds" in her inaugural editors letter.
The magazine’s Hollywood issue, released annually ahead of the Oscars, is true to form, featuring the most diverse lineup of actors the special issue has ever seen. It’s the first time in the issue’s 25 year history (you can peruse previous covers here) the majority of stars featured on the cover are actors of colour.
The cover features Chadwick Boseman, Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet, alongside Nicholas Hoult, Yalitza Aparicio, Rami Malek, Regina King, John David Washington, (Australia’s own) Elizabeth Debicki, Tessa Thompson and Henry Golding, and the representation has not gone unnoticed.
“This image was inconceivable 12 months ago,” Crazy Rich Asians director Jon Chu tweeted of the cover. Others were fixated on the fierce finger-touching between Tessa Thompson and Elizabeth Debicki, which is most definitely a mood.
While conversations around diversity in Hollywood can be met with cynicism, the reaction to this cover suggests that more representation is what audiences are looking for.
As Roma star, and Best Actress Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparicio told the magazine, "While my time in the business has been short, it has been a source of pride and hope for many people to see someone that looks like me—an indigenous person—starring in an Oscar-winning director’s film. And a big change for Hollywood.”
For Sorry To Bother You actress Tessa Thompson, the cover reflects the way representation in Hollywood is improving. "I’ve seen real change in the years I’ve been making movies," she wrote in a post on her Instagram account. "My wildest dream has always been that the covers of magazines and the movies we celebrate might reflect the world in which we live. Might include more of us. I believe we are the closest we’ve ever been to that being a reality"
And that's something to dance about.
