'Lena Waithe Is Changing the Game,' says Vanity Fair. So is VF Editor-in-Chief Radhika Jones

Jennifer Lawrence appeared on the March cover of Vanity Fair, the first issue under the editorship of Radhika Jones, who was named in November to succeed Graydon Carter. The cover was a perfectly fine if utterly unsurprising choice (Hollywood A-lister Lawrence, who's already appeared on hundreds of major magazine covers around the world, had a movie, "Red Sparrow," to promote). But in her editor's letter for the April issue, Jones makes it pretty clear that the J.Law cover was basically a leftover booking from the previous VF administration. The April cover starring Lena Waithe that you see above was actually "my first Vanity Fair cover shoot," Jones writes, and she flew to Los Angeles to oversee it (Vanity Fair is headquartered in Manhattan). Jones continues, Our subject had initially caught my attention through her television work—playing Denise, the wise, occasionally wiseass lesbian sidekick to Aziz Ansari's Dev on the Netflix series Master of None—and then through her speech at the Emmys last fall, when she became the first black woman to be honored for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. "The things that make us different, those are our superpowers," she said, accepting the award for an episode in which Denise comes out, a story based on her own experience. "The world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren't in it." When I thought about the kind of person I'd like to see on the cover of Vanity Fair, I thought about Lena Waithe—a member of the new creative elite remaking entertainment for her generation. And now here I was, watching Annie Leibovitz focus her lens on Lena. Jones notes that Waithe's career momentum—including her imminent big-screen debut in Steven Spielberg's "Ready Player One" plus more TV work ("The Chi" on Showtime and a pilot picked up by TBS)—made the decision to have her front Vanity Fair an easy one. Still, the cover has become a social media sensation, with Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay among those praising it: Dear @RadhikaJones, You're changing the game by centering this game-changer on the @VanityFair cover. You've done something big here. Something bold. I'm excited by you. And grateful for this powerful image of our sister warrior, the great @LenaWaithe. Who we hold so dear. Brava. pic.twitter.com/l2hOssvgo8 Meanwhile, Waithe has been soaking up the love, retweeting some of the many ecstatic reactions to her cover, including: I also LOVE that this @LenaWaithe profile was written by @JackieWoodson. Two queer Black women talking about writing, being Black women artists, and just doing the work? Totally buying an actual and factual copy. https://t.co/Qir5AAzUtN Im probably the 10,000th person talking about this #LenaWaithe Vanity Fair cover, but I must say — Seeing her on the cover of a magazine like that in ALL her Black, masculine, queer lady glory — it made me feel something as someone who identifies similarly. Thank you @LenaWaithe! I don't think folks really understand how important @LenaWaithe 's #VanityFair cover is to Black girls, women and queer Black folk in general. The tide is SLOWLY turning but turning nonetheless. #BlackGirlsRock Do y'all understand how many lives this cover is going to change? How many little boys and girls (and adults) who are afraid of being themselves that will feel empowered because @LenaWaithe is living in her truth? Bravo @VanityFair @radhikajones. This is incredible! pic.twitter.com/3RzT2bLvfP That one-in-a-billion moment when your type (masc of center / butch) appears on the cover of a mainstream magazine. AND she is black AND they don't ruin it by styling her as femme. 1st time in my life I've seen this. @LenaWaithe 🔥 h/t @rebel19 #queerhistory #lesbianvisibility https://t.co/v0ZzMFz8qu And as of this writing the pinnned tweet on Waithe's Twitter account is an expression of gratitude—accompanied by some rather excellent and elaborate hashtags: grateful to @radhikajones, #annieleibovitz, and @JackieWoodson for seeing me so clearly. I love you all. #VanityFair #WhoSaysABlackLesbianCantBeOnTheCoverOfVanityFair #LetsBlackPantherThisIssue #MyPlayCousinsAreAllGonnaBuyAtLeastTenCopies #RadhikasReignBegins https://t.co/YHpwGK1hqJ

'Lena Waithe Is Changing the Game,' says Vanity Fair. So is VF Editor-in-Chief Radhika Jones

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