(WHDH) — GQ’s “‘Woman’ of the Year” cover honoring tennis star Serena Williams is receiving backlash after some fans called it insensitive.
The magazine announced its “2018 Men of the Year” series Monday, with Williams gaining the title of “Woman of the Year.”
Its front cover had the internet buzzing as many people questioned GQ’s decision to put the word “woman” in quotes after crossing out the word “man.”
Some say it’s body-shaming a female athlete who has been called “manly” in the past, something Williams admits she once struggled with.
One Twitter user put the cover side-by-side with last year’s GQ “Woman of the Year,” Gal Gadot, with no quotes in sight.
The magazine has not publicly addressed the controversy but on its website, it wrote that the cover was in collaboration with a designer who has worked with Williams to come up with her on-court looks and features his “signature quotation marks.”
Williams has also not commented about the cover’s backlash.
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