This prior essay crystalizes the exact moment I realized that I could no longer subscribe to Essence magazine, one of their most tone-deaf cover choices and business moves ever.

“Irritated……Infuriated…….Outraged…..Undone…..”

That just begins to describe the outrage that many loyal readers are feeling as they find this month’s Essence magazine in their mailbox on newsstands this month. And who is the target of their angst? Reggie Bush.

At first glance, the cover seems innocuous: a chiseled, chocolate New Orleans Saints running back in all of his buff, bare-chested glory, giving his best ‘come-hither’ glance to the lens. That he’s handsome, skilled and successful isn’t the issue: what is the issue, however, is the fact that he’s featured on their annual Black Love issue, right beneath a headline reading “Black Men, Love and Relationships Issue.”  The problem is that he’s not in a relationship with a “sister.”  Is the target a younger reading demographic, or has the editorial staff succumbed to tabloid-era journalism to move units and lost their natural minds? Many seem to feel it’s the latter, and their scorching comments on many a blog reflect that:

“With a focal topic of Black Love, why would you place a man on the cover who clearly LOVES WHITE/NON-BLACK WOMEN???? I am trying to understand the logic myself of Essence putting Reggie Bush on the cover of their February issue.  The caption on the magazine cover is “live your fantasy.” What fantasy? Why would African-American women fantasize about a Black man that outside of sports is known because of the white/non-Black women he dates? You made a poor choice and based on the comments out in cyberspace, lost some readers too.”

“I think we as black women should boycott essence. I was outraged to see Reggie Bush on the cover. Why didn’t they use Idris Elba again, he’s sexy, educated, cultured and has respect and love for black women. Reggie is just a typical lost generation brother – I don’t support him because he doesn’t support black women whatsoever. Let a white female magazine put him on the cover since that is the audience that he caters to.”

“For all the people who are saying that we should be open-minded about interracial relationships and criticizing the people who disagree with Essence’s decision to put Reggie Bush on the cover, you’re missing the larger point. It’s not about Reggie dating this one white woman at this particular time. The issue is that Essence is rewarding a man who, according to various sources, has never ever ever publicly dated a black woman.”

I’ve never been one to take someone’s dating choices personally. That wouldn’t make any sense. However, putting a man on the cover of a magazine for and about black women who doesn’t even think that black women are good enough for him is just as baffling. I like people that like me and black people as a whole. Up until recently, I thought Essence felt the same way about its readers. Apparently that’s no longer the case.

For those who feel that the critics are being too harsh (and a bit non-PC), ABC News recently validated many of their concerns with multiple report decrying the dilemma of educated and professional sisters who cannot find an eligible black man to marry. In other words, if you’re one of those 42% of never-married black women (versus 21% of white women) who know how slim the pickings are amongst educated, non-incarcerated black men who genuinely want to marry them, putting a man like Mr. Bush on the cover might rouse some indignation within you as well.

I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall during that editorial meeting:

“We need a man for next month’s cover everyone, any suggestions?”

“Denzel’s got that new movie coming out soon, how about him?”

“Nah.”

“What about Idris Elba? He’s got that accent, the juicy lips…”

“He was on there last year, haven’t you been paying attention? We need someone else!”

“How about Robin Thicke, he loves some sisters!”

(*fingers snapping*) “I GOT it—-Reggie Bush!”

“Word? Reggie Bush? Um, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t he the football player who’s dating that amateur porn-tape-making, reality-show-having celebutante Kim Kardashian?”

“That’s him!”

(*crickets*)

But I digress. What’s ironic about choosing Reggie Bush is not only does he seem disloyal to many sisters, he embodies the stereotype that as long as the woman is non-black and beautiful, any woman will do, even if they have no real skill-requiring job (a reality show? Please.) and a questionable morals. Think about it: how many top-tier brothers would tolerate, much less be in a serious relationship with, a sister whose claim to fame was a tired, tawdry sex tape and a famous last name (And no, Superhead doesn’t count.)?

Still thinking, huh? Well, while you’re pondering that scenario, the reality remains: for a magazine that’s spent nearly 40 years branding itself for career-focused, educated and savvy sisters “dedicated to helping readers attain their maximum potential in various lifestyles and roles,” Essence achieved exactly the opposite with this dubious, if not outright despicable (at least it isn’t R. Kelly) choice of a cover model.

There are too many well-publicized examples of brothers who can’t or won’t create a life or family with the sisters….would it have taken that much more effort for the editors to select one who lives out their headline “black love” without exploiting their loyal readers in the process?