Vogue Portugal slammed over ‘insensitive’ cover ‘glorifying’ mental illnesses

After facing the wrath over lack of diversity, Vogue is now under fire for one of its latest issues on mental health.

The magazine’s Portugal edition faced a barrage of backlash over its July/August ‘Madness’ issue with an insensitive and ‘glorified’ take on mental illnesses.

The cover shows model Simona Kirchnerova crouched in a bathtub with two nurses pouring water down on her.

Commenting on the cover, Portuguese model Sara Sampaio said on Vogue Portugal’s Instagram post: “These kinds of pictures should not be representing the conversation about mental health! I think it’s very bad taste!”

Dr Katrina Alexandraki, a clinical psychologist was also quoted by The Guardian as saying: “Promoting the aesthetics of mental health is very problematic. It’s never a fashion, that is so invalidating. Not to mention the history of women and mental illness. There are hundreds of stories of abuse where women are at their most vulnerable.”

Vogue on the other hand, opened up on its Twitter account about why the issue was focused on mental health: “It’s about love. It’s about life. It’s about us. It’s about you. It’s about now. It’s about health. It’s about mental health. #themadnessissue. It’s about time.”