The Economist magazine faced ridicule on Monday after it revealed its cover for an issue focusing on America’s Latino population: an American flag fashioned out of chili peppers.
“A special report on America’s Latinos,” the cover read.
The thinking man’s weekly tweeted the issue’s cover on Thursday, adding the text, “This week’s cover: Firing up America.”
But the backlash didn’t bubble up until Monday morning. Several people faulted the cover as cringeworthy; Vox Media went so far as to call it “embarrassingly racist.”
I am guessing no Latinos on staff. MT @EconMedia:
Firing up Americs http://t.co/bcLHAj4MQt
March 14th – 20th 2015 pic.twitter.com/IiKDlhjToW
— stacy-marie ishmael (@s_m_i) March 16, 2015
Do we really have to deconstruct @TheEconomist‘s cover photo? http://t.co/9p41eSwCeZ
— Monique Alcala (@MAAlcala) March 16, 2015
The Economist’s embarrassingly racist chili pepper cover gets Hispanic Americans all wrong http://t.co/0sE2ovSmHl pic.twitter.com/Eh8j9EyfHb
— Vox (@voxdotcom) March 16, 2015
I don’t think a Latino journalist would have come up with this cover for @TheEconomist pic.twitter.com/qi91QauYNF
— Ιman | ايمان (@ImaniAmrani) March 16, 2015
Rejected Economist cover. pic.twitter.com/3CeePdRkE2
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) March 16, 2015
They should have used the Chihuahua from the Taco Bell commercials as a culturally neutral indicator.
Seeing how it’s the “Economist” I’m actually surprised it wan’t a bunch of lawn mowers.
Or Rosario from Will and Grace
TPM Headline: The Economist Runs Ill-Advised Chili Pepper Cover For Issue On Latinos
Just imagine the cover they’re planning for an issue on race relations in America.
Now now…we should be thanking them. They were originally going to use this photo