Sports Illustrated readers CANCEL Beyonce Knowles "Ghetto Issue" subscriptions
"Outraged Sports Illustrated readers are flooding the SI offices with angry phone calls and emails demanding subscription cancellations. The furor erupted after Sports Illustrated's celebrated annual "Swimsuit Issue" hit the stands with Beyonce on the cover and an inside shot of a smug Kanye West gripping a models derriere.
Angry comments have been posted on this site as well as other blogs and message boards. "Is this the Swimsuit Issue or the Ghetto issue?" read one post. A source inside the SI mail room emailed me to say longtime subscribers are angry. "The calls are nonstop," she wrote. "Some of these guys have been subscribing to Sports Illustrated for years just so they can get the Swimsuit Issue before it hits the stands. This is like blasphemy to most of them who don't know who Beyonce or Kanye are."
A local newspaper reporter who asked not to be identified said, "So many women grew up identifying with the models in the Swimsuit Issue. They don't see themselves in Beyonce. SI has made a mockery of their core demographic with this issue."
So far, SI hasn't commented publicly on the complaints. But insiders say SI is discreetly emailing members of the mainstream media emphasizing the point that the Swimsuit Issue is a "Music Issue". But critics are asking how can it be both? "They should make up their minds," wrote one angry poster on a sports-related board. "Either it's the Swimsuit Issue or the Rap Issue. SI can cancel my subscription!"
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