Strange

Playboy Virgin Mary Cover Prompts Apology

by Jordan Yerman | December 13, 2008 at 10:49 am

2685 views | 32 Recommendations | 10 comments

Playboy's Mexican edition went for controversy, and achieved it: their December cover, featuring model Maria Florencia Onori posing as the Virgin Mary, prompted a formal apology from Playboy HQ in the USA.

The cover appeared on newsstands just days before the start of a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Guadalupe.

The magazine, which hit newsstands on December 1 as ceremonies began leading to Friday's pilgrimage to the Mexico City shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, showed a model wearing nothing but a white cloth over her head and breasts.

She is standing in front of a stained glass window with the cover line, "We Love You, Maria" in Spanish.

The pilgrimage holds special significance to the faithful this year as Mexico's economy suffers along with that of the rest of the world.

Streams of people from across Mexico and as far away as the United States, worshiped in front of a centuries-old cloak emblazoned with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who is said to have appeared to a 16th-century Indian peasant in December 1531.

Many walked for days carrying images of the dark-skinned virgin on their backs to pray at the giant basilica in Mexico City for health, forgiveness of their sins and, as Mexico's economy slows, help to find jobs and money.

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Sputnic

at 11:49 on December 13th, 2008

Merchant bankers caused the economic crisis and big business own playboy too. Depicting the mother of the mesia in this way is just shameful and beyond wrong in so many ways. Lets hope the pilgrims pray to God and not mary

Jawa Lunk

at 15:53 on December 13th, 2008

It's no worse than any of the other women they degrade in their publications...yet not too many people cry about that. Maybe it's because the have fewer clothes on?

Too bad people don't boycott the magazine for it's depiction of women in general...

cyril_francois

at 11:53 on December 13th, 2008

San Cristobal de las Casas , Street Real de Guadalupe, parade for the celebration of the day of the Virgin..

cyril_francois has contributed a photo to this story.

Amy Judd

at 13:40 on December 13th, 2008

This is so wrong...

TomAikins

at 16:30 on December 13th, 2008

What's wrong with poking a little fun at a mythological character? Besides, who cares what Playboy does anyway? All the media attention has done is help them sell more copies of their magazines. You think they didn't know in advance this would cause an uproar? Christie's as smart as her old man.

Paschen

at 18:49 on December 13th, 2008

There is a way of doing it that works and can be effective yet not with Play Boy.

Paschen

at 18:47 on December 13th, 2008

Certain things are better left untouched especially when it comes to matters such as religion. People can be rather sensitive about those.

jonathan McCarthy (not verified)

at 01:30 on December 14th, 2008

Did Playboy get the idea from the new book by Charles Webb? "Sex with THE Virgin Mary" was just published by thekickasspress.com and is certainly blasphemous.

ESOX LUCIUS

at 06:59 on December 14th, 2008

Italian porn actress 'La Cicciolina', better known as miss Ilona Staller, the former wife of American artist Jeff Koons, did the ultimate personifcation of the virgin in a controversial photoseries called ‘Made In Heaven’ that was actually presented as Modern Art with caps in 1992 and proceeded to shock the world. Amen.

jonathan sullivan (not verified)

at 20:01 on January 3rd, 2009

Playboy got the idea from the new blasphemous book, "Sex with THE Virgin Mary" by thekickasspress.com. At the website they list the reviews by leading Catholic prelates, it has to be seen to be believed.