Just in time for Oscar season, Entertainment Weekly on Friday unveils its “Beyond Beautiful”-themed issue, featuring Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria and Elizabeth Banks on the cover.
The six-page story, in which EW senior writer Nicole Sperling moderates a discussion about actresses running businesses, unequal pay in Hollywood, social media reach and the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, is part of a Time Inc. editorial initiative in which themes that reach beyond beauty and superficiality will be explored across the People, Essence and People En Español brands.
It’s the second such program in which one magazine’s cover story directs content to sister brands; last year an Essence cover on Shonda Rhimes and her television empire inspired not only six different Essence covers but four in EW and People.
“The genesis of this idea was how to get EW involved in the beauty and fashion space. Beauty has always been a difficult fit for us,” said editor in chief Henry Goldblatt. “What is our role on the red carpet? We don’t cover designers and makeup, we cover entertainment and pop culture.”
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Inspired by Witherspoon’s #AskHerMore campaign, in which the actress urged reporters to ask actresses about more than gowns and jewels on awards show red carpets, Goldblatt asked Witherspoon to appear on the cover and she decided to ask her friends to join in the shoot and the conversation.
“I’m committed to continuing this platform throughout the year and making sure our reporters ask about more than what women are wearing and put the [actresses’] work first,” he said.
It might not change the overall course of questioning at the Oscars gauntlet, but it might inspire some new answers, at least from Witherspoon, Washington et al.