![]() Rolling Stone: John and Yoko (January 1981) The Ali cover was doubtless the inspiration for Rolling Stone’s ' Passion of Kanye West' cover forty-eight years later, a non-too-subtle nod from one self-mythologising, ‘misunderstood’ celebrity to another. At the height of the civil rights movement and with anti-Vietnam war protests at their most fierce, it was impossible not to have a strong reaction to Ali’s martyred pose. Carl Fischer’s resulting photograph of a bloodied Ali pierced by the arrows of his critics simultaneously addressed race, celebrity and contemporary politics with startling force. With Esquire’s Muhammad Ali interview focusing on the boxer’s dwindling star status and divisive political statements, legendary art director George Lois suggested that the beleaguered sports legend pose as Christian martyr St Sebastian for the cover shoot. If the 1970s hosted some of the worst examples of gory misogyny dressed up as liberalism, it also delivered some of the most politically engaged and memorable magazine covers. The impact of the beautiful cover photograph and stark design has not diminished with time (Image credit: Esquire)
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