Australian Supermodel Breastfeeds on Elle Cover, Sparking Backlash

Elle magazine is saving an Australian supermodel's breastfeeding cover shot for subscriber editions only, opting for a less controversial photo for newsstands. 

The candid photo of Nicole Trufino breastfeeding her son Zion appears on the subscriber version of the June 2015 edition of Elle Australia, but the magazine chose a different photo for newsstands.

“This wasn’t a contrived situation: Zion needed a feed, Nicole gave it to him, and when we saw how beautiful they looked we simply moved her onto the set,” editor-in-chief Justine Cullen said, according to the magazine’s website. “It was a completely natural moment that resulted in a powerful picture.”

The magazine has received backlash from critics who say the photo should have been distributed on newsstands as well as to subscribers, the Daily Mail reported.

Cullen responded by calling the image a bonus for subscribers.

Zion, Trunfio’s first child with fiancé Gary Clark Jr., was born in January.

Trunfio was moved by the photo.

“When I saw the [subscriber] cover of me breastfeeding, which was unplanned and just natural, I teared up and thought, ‘Wow this is such a special moment where my worlds have collided,'" she told Elle.

Trunfio, 29, spoke out about the photo on social media, urging her fans to normalize breastfeeding.

 

There is nothing more powerful and beautiful than motherhood. The last thing I want to do is be controversial, so please take this for what it is, let us #normalizebreastfeeding there is nothing worse than a mother that is judged for feeding her hungry child in public. #weareonlyhuman I'm so proud of this cover and for what it's stands for. I obviously don't look like this while I am breastfeeding but this stands for all women out there, whether you breastfeed or not, we gave birth, we are women, we are mothers. Thank you to ELLE for being so bold and making such an encouraging, positive and healthy statement. #womenunite

A photo posted by Nicole Trunfio (@nictrunfio) on May 20, 2015 at 9:21pm PDT

Twitter users shared mixed reactions.

I too would have liked to see this front cover of the @Elleaus Mag on news-stands http://t.co/tv25rRcNR5 @nictrunfio #normalisebreastfeeding

— Stephanie Watson (@stephkatewatson) May 22, 2015

Although not everyone can breastfeed it is so important to normalise breastfeeding in the media. Well done Elle... http://t.co/k5wVDXfq3j

— BornOnline (@Born_Online) May 21, 2015

Props to @ELLEmagazine Australia for putting a breastfeeding model on its cover. Now sweatpants and no hairdo, please! :)

— Jen Wang (@jen_wang) May 22, 2015

@ELLEmagazine Too late to change the publicized cover, the message that #breastfeeding should not be in the public is wrong. Shame on you!

— Jessica Gallegos (@jess_gallegos) May 22, 2015

@MotherAndBaby @ELLEaus I think any message they were trying to send out by doing the breast-feeding cover was total threw away by the other

— Baccara Gallacher (@Caraagallacher) May 22, 2015

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