"Glamorization of war". Zelenska explains the scandalous photo shoot for Vogue that made a splash all over Ukraine

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska explained why she agreed to a photo shoot for the digital version of the American glossy Vogue, which caused a lot of noise in society because of her "masculine" pose. At the time, Zelenska was accused of "glamorizing the war," but now she is pleased that the photo shoot is still remembered, so her decision to agree was the right one.

The First Lady notes that, first of all, she could not refuse photographer Annie Leibovitz, whose models included Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Elizabeth II, Demi Moore, Leonardo DiCaprio, and other world-famous stars. Moreover, Ukrainians need to make themselves known to the whole world, so the photo shoot was another opportunity to attract attention, which was successful, because almost 2 years after it, Latin American media are still interested in this issue.

"This is such an old story. But the fact that you remember it now shows that it was widely publicized, and this is important. First of all, when you are approached by the editors of Vogue magazine, and this is exactly what happened... it was not our request, it was not our desire. When Vogue approaches you with a request for an interview and when they tell you that Annie Leibovitz is coming to Kyiv to shoot you, you need to have very powerful reasons to refuse. This is not just a photographer, this is a legend," Zelenska explained her personal reason for agreeing to the photo shoot.

The shooting allowed us to draw a lot of world attention to Ukraine after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, as the Brazilian journalist herself says when she asks about the photo shoot.

"Secondly, at that moment, it was the first months of the war, and we needed to use every opportunity to talk widely about what we were going through because we understand that the world is living its life, people continue to go about their business and the war is somewhere far away in Ukraine. They only care when they watch the news about it. Then they turn the page of an online publication and forget about it. Every day we face the horrors of this war, and we want it to stop. That is why it is right to talk about the war by any means necessary," the first lady continued.

Olena Zelenska also recalled the public criticism of her "masculine" pose for the cover. In the photo, the first lady was sitting on the steps with her legs open. She said that she was pleased with the support she received from people, and even more so with the flash mob that Ann Leibovitz started on Instagram. It spread all over the world.

"There were criticisms for the position I was sitting in on the stairs. But it caused a wave of support and there was a powerful flash mob when both women and men were photographed in the same position. It was very nice. I don't think that Vogue is only about glamor anymore, they have interesting articles on social issues, and geopolitical problems, and it can no longer be called a purely fashion magazine. I had some thoughts about how it would look, but I took a chance and now I'm sure it was the right thing to do," Zelenska reflected.

Earlier, the First Lady commented on the criticism of this cover from Ukrainians. She believes that the issue is only about stereotyping women and her own vision of aesthetics. However, Zelenska respects any opinions.

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