Michelle Obama Portrayed As Topless Slave On Spanish Magazine Cover

FUERA DE SERIE (Spain), LE MONDE (France)

Spanish magazine Fuera de Serie has sparked controversy by depicting the U.S. first lady as a topless slave on its new cover.

The cover features Michelle Obama’s face pasted over a famous 19^th century French painting showing a slave with one breast exposed.

The image was designed by British artist Karine Percheron-Daniels. It is part of a larger series of “famous nudes” which includes Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, Abraham Lincoln, and President Barack Obama, reports Le Monde.

The cover story on the magazine, which is a weekly insert of the Madrid business daily Expansión, claims to “give details on how Michelle has managed to seduce the American people." According to Fuera de Serie, Barack Obama's wife is "a woman who has won America’s hearts.”

Although the Spanish magazine refers to the US first lady as the “gran mujer” (great lady) behind the American president, the cover has been accused of depicting Michelle Obama in racist fashion.

Why are people even questioning whether the Michelle Obama picture is racist or not? Of course it is. It was just completely unnecessary.
— atokal. (@lakotaharris) Août 29, 2012

Michelle Obama depicted as a slave with a boob hanging out is tasteless
— Armondie L (@Mishthekenyan) Août 29, 2012

The British artist has issued a statement on her website to answer critiques:

“As an artist I only paint and create pictures of people I admire and feel passionate about. Michelle Obama is one of these people”

“I am not a racist. With my art I try and show beauty NOT DIRT”, she adds.

WORLDCRUNCH

Premium stories from Worldcrunch's own network of multi-lingual journalists in over 30 countries.

WORLDCRUNCH

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Migrant Lives

Migration

What's Driving More Venezuelans To Migrate To The U.S.

With dimmed hopes of a transition from the economic crisis and repressive regime of Nicolas Maduro, many Venezuelans increasingly see the United States, rather than Latin America, as the place to rebuild a life..

Photo of a family of Migrants from Venezuela crossing the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum

Migrants from Venezuela crossed the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum.

David Peinado via Zuma Press

Julio Borges

-Analysis-

Migration has too many elements to count. Beyond the matter of leaving your homeland, the process creates a gaping emptiness inside the migrant — and outside, in their lives. If forced upon someone, it can cause psychological and anthropological harm, as it involves the destruction of roots. That's in fact the case of millions of Venezuelans who have left their country without plans for the future or pleasurable intentions.

Their experience is comparable to paddling desperately in shark-infested waters. As many Mexicans will concur, it is one thing to take a plane, and another to pay a coyote to smuggle you to some place 'safe.'

Venezuela's mass emigration of recent years has evolved in time. Initially, it was the middle and upper classes and especially their youth, migrating to escape the socialist regime's socio-political and economic policies. Evidently, they sought countries with better work, study and business opportunities like the United States, Panama or Spain. The process intensified after 2017 when the regime's erosion of democratic structures and unrelenting economic vandalism were harming all Venezuelans.