SZA cancels cover shoot for lack of Black photographer

RnB singer SZA revealed on Tuesday that she pulled out of a scheduled cover shoot because the magazine wouldn’t hire a Black photographer.

“I requested a black photographer for a cover n the mag told me no lol its 2021… And almost Juneteenth,” she tweeted. “Respectfully I can’t do it.”

Angry fans demanded to know the magazine so they could drag/boycott them. However, in a follow-up tweet, the Good Days singer declined to “expose” the magazine in question. “Das not my vibe but there’s TOO many elite black creatives rn to not allow it,” she wrote.

The Kiss It More singer, whose highly anticipated sophomore album is expected later this year, recently appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, and Wonderland. In a third tweet, SZA gave each magazine a shout-out for hiring Black photographers: “Gotta celebrate when it’s RIGHT too!”

Many decades-old print publications have only recently begun to prioritize diversity in high-profile cover shoots. In 2018, Tyler Mitchell became the first-ever Black photographer to shoot the cover of Vogue, hand-selected by Beyoncé. Two years later, Dario Calmese became the first Black photographer to shoot the cover of Vanity Fair.

SZA’s own 2019 Rolling Stone shoot was only the magazine’s second cover shot by a Black photographer, Campbell Addy.

Source: Insider