Despite being in merely his early 20s in 2008, LeBron James had already established himself as perhaps the best player in the NBA at that point. He was such a household name at that point in the United States that Vogue decided to make him the first ever black man on the cover of their illustrious magazine.
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In spring of 2008, James graced the cover of Vogue. However, he didn’t do it alone. Alongside him was none other than Tom Brady’s current, soon-to-be ex-wife, Gisele Bundchen. The Cavaliers superstar was dating longtime girlfriend, Savannah Brinson, at the time but this didn’t stop him from striking quite the pose with the supermodel.
On the cover, you can see LeBron in a sleeveless short yelling at the camera while holding a graceful Gisele by the waist. Looking at the cover, people drew similarities to something more offensive than a ‘harmless’ photoshoot.
LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen’s Vogue cover stirred up controversy
LeBron James being the first black man to grace the cover of Vogue should’ve been a moment of pure celebration. However, the nature of the cover with both James and Gisele on it led to people calling out the magazine company for potentially trying to push a certain agenda.
With the way they were posed, the public drew similarities to what King Kong looked like when trying to save the white woman who was the damsel in distress. Essentially, portraying the NBA MVP as a King Kong type character and Gisele as the woman in need of saving.
Many at the time called this a blatant attempt to perpetuate a dangerous impression of what a black man is like, insinuating that he may be dangerous. A small few felt as though there was nothing wrong with the cover.
However, the similarities between that Vogue cover and several illustrated graphics of King Kong carrying around a white woman in peril are a bit jarring.
Let’s not forget the Vogue April 2008 cover by Annie that unabashedly leaned into AmeriKKKan imagery of Black people via infrahumanizing LeBron James as a King Kong-esque ape figure (using WWI Army propaganda) in a photo shoot with Gisele Bündchen…😠👇🏿 pic.twitter.com/zzk5B8iWTI
— Rejane (Re-Jah-Knee) F (@Frederc10) August 17, 2022
Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady call it quits
Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady got married a year after that Vogue cover released. They have however, decided to get a divorce after 13 years of marriage. The common consensus on why they split is because Tom chose to go ahead with his NFL career at age 45 instead of spending time with his family.
LeBron James on the other hand, has been with Savannah James since high school and is still married to her in 2022. The two share 3 children together.
