Madonna, photographed by Herb Ritts for Interview magazine, June 1990

Once upon a time, magazine covers featured celebrities with some actual talent and substance, and everyone and their grandparents knew who they were. Some celebs got bold in their portraits, and no one took more brazen pics than Madonna herself. This could very well be my favorite mag cover of hers. It just POPS. You don’t get more in-your-face than grabbing your crotch. That a female celeb did *that* made it more ballsy; I bet the incels and prudes in 1990 sent hate mail to Interview then. I can’t imagine what the reaction would be if, say, Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter struck the same pose on a mag cover these days. Although it would be pretty cool if either of them did that.

The editorial and her interview is also worth a look!