GQ's Woman of the Year Cover With Serena Williams Causes Controversy

The release of a GQ cover naming Serena Williams as the magazine’s 2018 Woman of the Year has sparked controversy on social media.

Here’s the cover:

Your GQ's 2018 Woman of the Year: Serena Williams 😍😍😍 pic.twitter.com/wDL0ILsMTh

— Luis. 👸🏾🐐 (@serenapower_) November 12, 2018

The reason for the controversy surrounding the tennis star being on the cover is because GQ put “Woman” in quotation marks in their congratulatory text.

After seeing the cover, GQ was slammed by fans of the 23-time Grand Slam champ.

So is #GQ implying that @serenawilliams is not a #Woman why they quoted the word “WOMAN” 😳 pic.twitter.com/DFjug1pvid

— TheRealMichelle (@Michiiboo01) November 13, 2018

https://twitter.com/e_alexjung/status/1062013753686925314

@GQMagazine Please explain to me why GQ Magazine’s Editorial Team felt that quote marks were necessary on the Serena Williams’ Woman of the Year Cover. I Really Really Need to Know. I’m Expecting an Answer😡🙄🤷🏽‍♀️🤔👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾 pic.twitter.com/qGNPNJI4Rq

— Y•S•A•N•N•E (@YsanneBueno) November 13, 2018

Virgil Abloh, an American fashion designer, styled Williams’ cover. As many pointed out, Abloh styled a dress Williams wore while competing at the U.S. Open this summer and the designer’s brand Off White prominently features words in quotation marks.

Some were not buying that explanation.

i get the @virgilabloh reference but that quotation around woman is weird af and totally uncalled for. https://t.co/6tKReal3CP

— Ryan Mitchell (@TheSlayGawd) November 12, 2018

https://twitter.com/crissles/status/1062021072348942336

This year’s “Men of the Year” are Michael B Jordan, Henry Golding, and Jonah Hill.