Following public outrage over the photo of Dzhohkar Tsarnaev on the cover of the most recent Rolling Stone issue, editors of the magazine are now debating whether other parts of the issue stretch the limits of moral decency as well.
One editor, who wished to remain anonymous in our conversation, noted that while the cover photo is “regrettable”, it may in fact be the least offensive part of the magazine.
“If people are upset about the cover…oh boy…they really will dislike the Tsarnaev nude centerfold. In retrospect, there may be a number of poor decisions that went into the making of this issue.”
Other rumored pieces include an expose on Mohamed Morsi’s ‘beach bod’, a cartoon of Nelson Mandela thanking his supporters from Hell, and numerous advertisements for the American Neo-Nazi movement.
“I guess our staff was collectively in a dark place when we put this issue together. How ‘Why Trayvon Deserved It’ got past the initial editing stage is pretty hard to fathom. We’ll have to come together and determine what exactly went wrong with this issue and make sure we correct those mistakes for the next one.”
While this particular editor seems troubled by the content, co-founder Jann Wenner believes that people will eventually forgive the magazine for its willingness to report whatever happens to be on the minds of the writers.
“I can’t say I’ve read through this issue yet, but I’ll just say this. You’re always going to upset someone when you publish controversial pieces. I remember when we gave a poor review to ‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles. People were mad, but they got over it. I imagine the same thing will happen with this…wait what did they do….are you kidding me? Oh God, this is bad.”
The new issue of Rolling Stone is set to hit newsstands on Friday.