Playboy Virgin Mary Cover Sparks Outrage In Mexico

Playboy magazine apologized for a controversial cover featuring a scantily-clad woman resembling the Virgin Mary, Reuters reported.

The December edition was published Thursday, just before the Mexican festival honoring Mary known as the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Playboy Enterprises Inc., based in Chicago, released a statement Friday explaining that the company did not approve the cover because the Mexican version of the magazine is published by a licensee, according to Reuters.

"While Playboy Mexico never meant for the cover or images to offend anyone, we recognize that it has created offense, and we as well as Playboy Mexico offer our sincerest apologies," the company said.

Keep reading here.

Check out the cover below.

Comments

[GlobalObserver]

11:49 AM on 12/18/2008

What these Eurocentric, delusional sheep fail to acknowledge is that Mary, the mythical mother of Yeshua bin Yosef, was a BLACK AFRICAN. I can't cite the Bible chapter that describes Jesus' bronze feet and wooley hair but its in there. When I look at this picture I see waifey European Child in a towel in front of a stained glass window. That's appropriate given that the West and the Catholic Church tacitly advocate pedophilia. Look at the abuse scandals, cover-ups, pay-offs, and the cover of any Blender/ Maxim type magazine for evidence, in addition to the many covered up stories involving politicians, heads of state, and prominent socialites.
Racists perverts and pedophiles is what they are...The heirs to the perversions of the Holy Roman Empire.

[aweissnet]

09:23 PM on 12/18/2008

Well, she looks quite white to me.

Oh, and all the movies on Jesus's life? That man was white as the driven snow. Even blonde sometimes.

I mean, these things are all historically accurate, aren't they?

[harriettubman]

05:14 PM on 12/17/2008

Isn't anything sacred anymore? I'm not Catholic but this is going a bit too far. Playboy should concentrate on and article about why the molestor priests aren't in prison yet.

To put this on their Mexican cover means they wanted to lose many subscribers too. There's nothing sexual in depicting salacious sex objects with religion.

[goosetaffo]

02:36 PM on 12/17/2008

This is a publicity stunt, intended to create controversy by insulting Catholics. Most people don't know or care that Playboy magazine still exists.

[Indyfromny]

02:18 PM on 12/17/2008

Shes gorgeous, where can I get one?

[Raven001]

01:15 PM on 12/17/2008

I love it, all the gringos giving their opinions and yet they don't know whats going on down here.
I live in Mexico and no one cared about the Playboy thing.
Its just the american sensationalist media making things up to keep te average american enterteined.
And you buy into the whole thing.
Is very amusing.

Raven001
Monterrey NL

[apduncan1]

02:11 PM on 12/17/2008

Amen!

More bs to keep people distracted with non-issues. Pathetic.

[StewartIsnotfunnyanymore]

12:50 PM on 12/17/2008

With everything facing Mexico, these people obsess about this crap?

PS The model is HOT!

[gdamac]

12:02 PM on 12/17/2008

Sorry, but Latin America is the last place that should get angry about this time of thing. Before I hear you complain about this image, let's see you put your female citizens on equal footing with the men, hmmm? Oh yeah, and tell your grown men to stop looking at and trying to talk to 12 year old girls!

[amdezurik]

01:47 PM on 12/17/2008

so you are calling even male mexican a child rapist?

[bruffin]

09:11 AM on 12/17/2008

Ok, I'm laughing, but I realize this is not funny. What gets me is that Playboy Mexico knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they printed this. They were just hoping that a less than virginal Virgin Mary would appeal to its deeply Catholic constituents. It was a bad gamble, and though I am not religious by any means (nor do I believe the stories of the Bible are acurate depictions of history), this cover should not have been printed.

On the same token, it is so not cool to make fun of people for the religious beliefs, if they are not practicing them to your detriment and are truly good people.

[apduncan1]

11:38 AM on 12/17/2008

Do you know how much money is made with the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico?

[bruffin]

01:20 PM on 12/17/2008

I can only imagine . . . . I know, it's really hypocritical, but alot of thing regarding people and religion are.

[Seral]

12:49 AM on 12/17/2008

They are okay with females showing everything for their pleasure, essentially reducing the value of a woman to a piece of meat to satisfy their desires, but, they cannot approve of it, if the theme smells religion. If they had any honest belief in religion they should have stopped it from publishing, long time ago.

[MyrtleJune]

11:56 PM on 12/16/2008

Obviously they mean the other Mary..... Not hard to figure out. Much ado about nothing.

[sonshine]

10:35 PM on 12/16/2008

Who has ever seen this "virgin mary"? No one knows how this woman/little girl looked yet people, weak-minded people obviously, can be appalled at this image. Jesus, Christ, I need to start a church so I can get rich. Thinking stinks and following is easy.

[Q69]

07:54 PM on 12/16/2008

Ummm, I didn't realize the Virgin Mary had man-made breasts.

Thank God I'm an athiest.

[GoodwithWood]

10:23 PM on 12/16/2008

Me too. I swear to God.

[aweissnet]

07:15 PM on 12/16/2008

I can't wait for the day the religious people grow up and realize they've been believing in fairy tales. I get nauseated being told to pray (usually in e-mails ... those chain things) ... for the fires, for the soldiers, for whatever. Best thing to do, they say. That's what the soldiers need the most? I think the solders might fare better with less prayers and more ACTION on the part of people. Maybe if they stopped praying and started DOING, our country would not be in the shape it is.

Hey folks, God ain't bailing us out! Get used to it.

To which, a smug god-fearing and loving Christian thought to him/herself "Wait till judgment day. That woman is going to hell."

[GoodwithWood]

10:15 PM on 12/16/2008

Prayer is false consolation for inaction.

[jeremyemilio]

11:57 PM on 12/16/2008

Liberal Christian here, and husband of a youth pastor. My wife, I'm sorry to tell you, is more "active" than about 95% of all the people who post on this site. She's taken kids into our home, helped them get back into school, raised money and collected food to feed families, given children a safe place to hang out, helped kids and their parents get off of drugs and beat alcoholism, intervened for kids in trouble with the police and with their schools, helped kids with no support at home find apartments and jobs, invested in their lives through encouragement and a genuine interest, helped kids get out of abusive relationships, and offered support to a group of at risk kids who lost a friend to suicide (a boy for whom she and police spent the night searching through the forest after he made his last call to her to say goodbye). Prayer is no excuse for inaction for her and we 15 or so volunteers who help her... it is where she, and we, get the strength to be active.

You know what really IS false consolation for inaction? Blogging.

[aweissnet]

09:15 PM on 12/18/2008

And a reason to keep hoping in the worst of conditions.

[harriettubman]

05:23 PM on 12/17/2008

Ok, I get your fairytales. However, are you aware that when people can't pay their bills they usually go to either a Catholic charity or to their church first? I'm glad we have religion. It may not be 100% perfect but I've seen people clean up their lives based on the those fairytales.

[aweissnet]

09:20 PM on 12/18/2008

That's very true. Many people have turned away from addictions to one thing or another after finding church and/or god.

I guess that is ultimately a good thing. I kinda like truth, myself. Believing in a god is so much easier, as a way to cope with life, but I don't allow myself that luxury, cuz I know it's not true. Lying to myself is not the way to happiness and/or health. Facing life and accepting, and changing where one can--that seems the sensible, adult thing to do.

As for charities/church .... if we had a compassionate and moral society that believed in humanity and equal treatment for all, we wouldn't have to pretend we believe in Santa Claus to get aide when we need it.

[ArtCarnage]

06:01 PM on 12/16/2008

I think Playboy should be applauded for supporting abstinence, by putting a virgin on the cover.

[motherforpeace]

05:22 PM on 12/16/2008

Wow, the posts here bashing other people's spirituality is stunning. I think that the problem with the cover of the magazine, it's insensitive. Free speech or not, Playboy is a magazine for PROFIT not politics and if this magazine stands to insult the majority of people in MEXICO where it is sold then it is wise for them to apologize.

Furthermore, the fact that the people who are insulted spoke out is their right of free speech, but instead, they are labeled as some kind of psycho religious fanatic. They have just as much rights to their feels as you are to yours.

[Spinsterina]

07:34 PM on 12/16/2008

"They have as much rights to their feels..." (sic)
Oh, mother, I think we can draw the line at copping a feel.

BTW, you pretend to be stunned at people "bashing other people's spirituality" but then lecture us about free speech. We have no obligation to respect the beliefs of religious fanatics. Sorry.

[aweissnet]

09:22 PM on 12/18/2008

That's like indulging a child grown into an adult who still believes in the tooth fairy and santa claus, easter bunny et al.

I wouldn't enable that kind of fantasy world.

[longfeltwant]

08:21 PM on 12/16/2008

If you don't think Playboy is about politics, you obviously don't read Playboy.