The gossip last week was that Kate Upton, Christie Brinkley and Serena Williams would all have individual covers for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition. That didn’t happen. While Christie got an editorial with her daughters, she didn’t get a cover. Ashley Graham got an editorial, but didn’t get a cover. Hannah Jeter got an editorial, but didn’t get a cover. And Serena Williams got an editorial, but didn’t get a cover. They gave Kate Upton THREE covers.
Why didn’t they give Serena a cover? I really don’t know. It would have been more groundbreaking, even though Serena has been on the cover of SI before, and she’s posed for the Swimsuit Edition before. Serena has done more in her 35 years on this earth than most people could dream of doing in a lifetime. She’s an icon of sports. She’s an icon of womanhood. She’s an icon of black womanhood. And, oh right, she’s sexy as hell. She manages to disrupt beauty standards just by being confident and happy with herself and her body. Which is what she told SI:
“I want people to come away with the fact that it’s OK to be comfortable in your body. I’m not a size two. It’s OK to look good and feel good and I’m strong. It’s OK to look strong and to be sexy and to be a woman and to be unbreakable—all those things. I really want to have that influence for people out there that have my body type. I want them to be like, ‘I look good too.’ That’s what I hope for.”
[From SI via E! News]
I love her so much. And for what it’s worth, she is a body inspiration to so many women – I’ve said this before, but I would rather have Serena’s body than, say, Kate Upton’s. That’s something I feel more as I get older – I would rather be strong than thin. I would rather be athletic than look like a model. I would rather have Serena’s Thighs of Disruption than anything else.
Anyway, Serena is the #GOAT! I don’t know what will happen at the French Open this year, but I have my fingers crossed for Serena at Wimbledon this year. I definitely think she’s going to hit #24 this year (she hit #23 in Melbourne).
You can see Serena’s full SI editorial here.
Serena Williams in #SISwim 2017! https://t.co/HIwg0HO5Gm pic.twitter.com/3W8MbQJY3S
— SI Tennis (@SI_Tennis) February 16, 2017
Emmanuelle Hauguel/Sports Illustrated.
She looks so stunning, but I still think this is beneath her. She’s Vogue material, not SI.
Having said that
“Serena has done more in her 35 years on this earth than most people could dream of doing in a lifetime” – I don’t like this kind of talk, just because someone’s achievements are highly pulicised, doesn’t make them superior to someone else.
I’m quite happy to say that Serena Williams is so many times superior to me that we’re not even in the same universe. Surely her achievements put her in a different orbit to most people?
Same! Like One Day May I touch the hem of the garment of such a Life!, She IS superior, Point blank Period, Do Not in any way diminish this Queen’s Accomplishments, and also Incidentally she looks like a dream in these Pics, Just B-A-D-A-S-S
Also: We all Know why this wasn’t given to the Champ cause im sure if I scrolll down in under a Minute I’m gonna find the Turd in the punchbowl taking pains to say she isn’t racist but Serena looks too Big/Manly/Black/EtcBullsh!tmade up reason Treacle to say that Beauty that isn’t centered in whiteness and the white gaze in general isn’t pretty or ladylike or really sexy or Inclusive ( Because for once or twice including someone else’s gaze/ideal is too much)
But she IS superior to most of us if superiority is based on ACCOMPLISHMENT, as it should be, as opposed to PRIVILEGE, as it too damned often is! Cmon, it’s ridiculous to deny this woman the fruits of labors.
On the other hand, she’s far too good for a cover on SI anyway. They would have gone WAY up in my estimation if they had treated her as she clearly deserved.
Well..she HAS done more in her 35 years on this earth than most people could dream of doing in a lifetime…so….get over it?
It doesn’t make her a better or more worthy human, but she is a more accomplished one. Celebrating mediocrity is how we ended up with reality TV and Kartrashians. 🤢
I’ll gladly praise true accomplishment.
And how we ended up with Trump.
Nicely put Mia. There’s nothing subjective about it. She is a winner, over and over and over.
I’m not saying we should celebrate mediocrity. She’s more accomplished than most people in her field. But I don’t think that makes her accomplishments more valuable than those of doctors, or nurses etc., fields where you never get that kind of recognition.
Yes. But this discussion is about why she didn’t get the cover. Its not like there are nurses and doctors that are also featured in the issue. Its Sports Illustrated, not Best of Mankind…
I get what you’re saying now. Thirty five years of being an excellent nurse is going to get you inadequate retirement, a heart full of sad memories along with the good and a very sore back. Definitely not accolades.
But that’s really not the subject here.
I didn’t say she shouldn’t have gotten the cover. I’m just responding to that sentence.
And she should have gotten the cover. If she’s in SI, she should at least be on the cover.
I don’t find anything wrong with that statement. Our history is a long series of stories about people who managed to do something beyond the average. Human beings are capable of incredible things, and while there’s nothing wrong with accepting the average, celebrating the incredible is what may inspire others to do the same. Superiority has nothing to do with it – some people are just capable of achieving greatness while others can’t (or don’t care). That’s just a part of life.
Locke Lamora – I get what you’re saying and I agree with you.
She should have. The industry line is that Kate Upton whined like a bitch & refused to pose unless she was the cover. Being a MLB pitchers fiancé has her tossing her weight around. She has been left out of most fashion shots of late leaving SI here last avenue.
Serena is & looks amazing
That teal swimsuit is everything!!!
The teal is great, but the white seems uncomfortably ill-fitting. How does it go unnoticed at the photo shoot?
Agreed – I love the teal color, but in my opinion both swimsuits aren’t the best for her rockin’ body. I wish the stylist hadn’t gone with the ultra-high-thigh 80’s cut swimsuits. They look incredibly uncomfortable, and like a person is walking around with a wedgie. A more active cut swimsuit that moved with Serena’s amazing musculature would be far more inspiring (like, I can imagine Serena running around on the beach, playing volleyball or beach soccer, surfing or paddleboarding, and these two swimsuits do not look accommodating of any of that – know what I mean? And when I see athletes like Serena doing fun stuff with comfy-looking activewear-inspired swimsuits on the beach, it motivates me to do more active stuff.)
All of that being said, no fugly, uncomfortable-cut-looking swimsuits can detract from her utter perfection AT ALL. She’s a goddess!!!
Right? I thought the first pic with the white swimsuit looks all kind of weird and like somebody from her family just took it on holiday, rather than for an editorial spread. The teal one is much better and also the setting and pose is a bit more editorial.
and so is her booty! I have major booty-envy.
Its so firm and nicely toned and lovely. Look how firm it is.
I am very, very jealous, that butt is art.
oh god yesssssssss
They didn’t give it to the goddess Serena because as you said they love a bland Becky.
Because they are cowards. And this is Trumps America now. Crazy that Sports Illustrated wouldn’t use a GOAT in sports to illustrate their cover.
I don’t want Serena to be on the cover of the swimsuit issue. Yes, she is a beautiful woman, but modeling is not what makes her cover worthy of SI. Her ground-breaking, record-setting, ass-kicking career means she should get a cover every other month because when it comes to athletes, she truly is the GOAT.
I prefer her body to Kate’s too. And I love her in that blue swimsuit.
On a more superficial note, that white swimsuit looks like my toilet paper. You know, white, thick and with barely visible 3D pattern very similar to the one I have at home (I don’t know why they put that on toilet paper, but they do).
I have that toilet paper too! :p
Serena is striking and attractive, but that white swimsuit is doing her no favors. It’s ill fitting! Yuck.
And Kate Upton is beautiful also, no need to pit women against each other
but kate upton tho….
and her white swim suit albeit ill fitting (i thought maybe shes preggie) but not a “YUCK” ever
Her arms are why I do push-ups on my toes.
And that first photo is everything.
Good for you! I can barely do pushups on my knees.
Maybe I should use photos of Serena Williams (and Michelle Obama) for inspiration.
Michelle Obama’s arms are GOAL. I feel so lazy when I look at her or Serena.
Yes, m. Obama is so fit! It ticks me off when they say she looks like a man. She does NOT
Arms, thighs and booty. If I had her figure I’d have no behaviour. Y’all couldn’t get me to put clothes on.
Ok not really. I’m too self-conscious but by gob is that body amazing.
The fact that they passed over Serena for someone who raged on Twitter about Colin Kaepernick says a lot. The poster girl for Trump’s America.
Exactly.
Yes, this.
Kate Upton?!
KATE UPTON?!
Who the f cares about Kate Upton anymore? I sure don’t.
She was robbed
She definitely was. SI seriously? For most days Kate Upton looks like the inside of a gym is a mystery to her.
Her arms are extraordinary. But hey, SI’s gotta keep catering to the dudes who are threatened by the sight of strong women!
serena the goat would have been the best choice,and it s not the first time white bland woman is given her dues.
if not Serena williams, christie brinkley was more interesting because of female ageism discrimination, and Hannah jeter is more beautiful.
My god those butt muscles…amazing. And I totally agree Kaiser, I would take strong and fit over skinny any day of the week. I want my body to be able to do things. Plus I like to eat 🙂
Her body is insane. I needed the gym inspiration today…. she’s perfect for that!
I wouldn’t have wanted Serena Williams on the Swimsuit Cover. It used to be that the swimsuit issue was the only way you’d see a woman on the cover of SI. Serena doesn’t need to take her clothes off to be interesting.
They styled her so poorly. Those suits look like 80s aerobic video leftovers. She should be in a cute bikini or in briefs and topless. They probably saw how gross those suits looked in print and decided not to put her on the cover. She has a great body and should be on the cover but wardrobe screwed her.
This is what I was thinking. Those suits aren’t right for her. They don’t look good. She has this incredible body and they put her in those? Someone should be fired! Just kidding… But seriously, there are so many different looks that would be better for her.
All that bring said… She’s above this stupid magazine anyway. Let them have their covers that all look the same… She doesn’t need those anyway.
Yes. Every shot of her is truly awful. Why did they do that? The suits are ill-fitting, too small, and unflattering. A two piece would have looked great on her physique. These are possibly some of the worst professional photos I have ever seen. How did this get cleared?
They probably don’t know how to dress someone with Serena’s body type.
Yea she should’ve been on the cover but can we please give props to SI for not photoshopping the hell out of these women, especially her. Her body slays, but she looks real too. Bravo!
And someone commented that she’s above SI and should be on vogue. No. Vogue should be high on your boycot list.
They didn’t photoshop Serena too much because they used up all the photoshop giving Upton a waist and a creepy Barbie crotch.
You should check out Christie Brinkley’s left leg/hip area (It is 2 different sizes), and Kate Upton’s hand, that covers her chest. It looks like she is suffering from Baby Fists syndrome. The photoshopping is obvious and awful, as usual 🙁
The 1st pic of Serena in the white swimsuit is stunning. The lighting, her face, her hair, that body in all its glory. Stunning.
She looks amazing!
Gooooo Serena!!! 👙
I really hate the fit of that white bathing suit on her. It isn’t really giving me “oh look how sexy I am with my breasts falling out of my top” vibes so much as, “something at SI doesn’t understand how to fit a suit right.”
Those thighs though. She could crush a man’s head with those.
Kate is on the cover because she is modeling her boobs. Serena is actually wearing clothes so no cover. And I love that teal suit.
SI swimsuit covers are all about boobs.
I’m not familiar with this magazine, But it’s probably for sales, not the editors own ideology. I don’t think we are at the point where men want women to have bigger arms than they do and lots of men are out of shape, and obviously it’s thought that the point of this particular issue is for the men to um be attracted. Not that I love this about our culture at all. It’s definitely objectification. And I think objectification leads to rape culture, i saw similar themes about it in articles about sex dolls recently.
I thought Kate was on the cover because she threw a giant hissy fit because she was worried another younger model with bigger boobs would take her spot. And also, guys she is famouuussss, she deseeeeerved it. ha. sure. Just like Veelander deserved the Cy Young.
Read – this is all she has and she’s going to fight tooth and nail to be The Hot Big Titted Girl.
Your points about men and fitness are bang on. None of the out of shape men I know like a woman with muscle. The athletes and fitness buffs, they want a strong woman. Anecdotally of course, I totally see this.
Anytime SI go out of the box. Sales flop. Their core readers worship the Cheryl Tiegs, Cindy CRawford school of ‘beauty’. Upton is their biggest seller. She can be on Vogue, and on a garage wall in Missouri at the same time. Seems when SI tries to expand with last year’s triple covers, or even a Beyonce cover, there’s a reader backlash. Funny that😒
This body is no more obtainable for most woman than some size zero model on the cover of fashion magazine.
Serena is #goals all around. She looks otherworldly.
The photographer sucks. That and the combo of lame ass shitty swimwear equals Serena not being given the shoot/pics she deserves.
A bit of blue water and sunshine does not a great picture make.
She has an incredible figure and is a beautiful woman, but those shots of her are mediocre at best.
Kate’s covers were boring, same sort of covers they have every single year. Serena would have been a great cover! Not the same blonde boring white model they always use.
The pic of Serena in blue laying on the sand is flirty splendor. Love to see this side of her.
Kate Upton three times? Sheesh. And she’s supposedly a pain in the ass.
Also, Kate Upton’s three covers are…kind of terrible?
Her other Swimsuit Edition covers made her look awesome; these ones make her look weird-shaped. Also, given two of the outfits hardly even count as swimsuits (they’re more like sparkly vulva harnesses) I think whoever was in charge of this photoshoot was so obsessed with Kate having her boobs out that they lost the ability to do their job competently.
After all, she’s made a career out of having her boobs out and looking amazing, so they really did screw this up.
All bow down to GOAT Serena. I could just stare at those pictures for an hour. She is glorious. They should have photographed her in a sassy boy shorts bikini playing paddle ball on the beach. Yeessssss!
No excuse, really. She’s one of the greatest athletes in her sport and she’s gorgeous to boot.
Seeing Serena’s body front center makes me feel better that my body is an accepted type. I’ve had thighs and a butt since 15. I’ve always been fairly confident because my body and muscles have taken me to national championships and college athletic scholarships, but knowing the world thinks only slim white women belong in swimsuits definitely affected me. Especially with a terrible coach that told me my body wasn’t swimsuit ready at 18 when I first got to college. Oh if I knew then what I know now…