Britney Spears sparked controversy straight out of the gate when she landed a Rolling Stone cover at the start of her career.
After dancing down a hallway wearing a schoolgirl uniform in the music video for her debut single “…Baby One More Time,” the nascent princess of pop continued to showcase a youthful brand of sensuality on the cover of the major magazine. The controversy got people talking and has kept her fans engaged ever since.
Of course, Spears isn’t the only — or even the first — celebrity to ignite a cultural conversation or outrage while posing on the cover of a magazine.
Stars such as Demi Moore and Kim Kardashian have found themselves in the middle of media firestorms for posing nude. Others, such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, were unfairly sexualized at young ages. Even still, other celebrity magazine covers have been called out for racist undertones.
Nevertheless, these images are forever seared into the pop culture zeitgeist — and undeniably iconic, for better or worse.