What catches your eye in the grocery store checkout line or your doctor’s waiting room? Awkward magazine covers like these are likely to do the trick. Sometimes those awkward moments can take the form of failed photoshop moments, but sometimes it's just an unsavory and uncomfortable headline paired with a weird stock photo. Regardless, these magazines’ awkward moments are our cause for laughter. We snagged all of the best cringey covers and rounded them up for your convenience.

Facetune became a popular app for any casual Instagram and social media user. However, before this rose to popularity, airbrushing and photoshopping were reserved pretty much for magazine cover photoshoots. Graphic designers and digital artists became really good at their jobs to the point where you weren’t supposed to be able to tell editing was ever done. So, then, why does this cover look like it was Facetuned by a fourth grader? Super awkward for Sarah Jessica Parker!

Political history in America has always been tense. Elections generate a vigor in Americans that we rarely see during off years. When Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton were running against each other for the presidential primary in 2008, there were many questions about the future of the Democratic party. Magazine covers like this one pitted the two harshly against each other. This one, though, is probably the most awkward because of the weird phrasing of the headline which leaves it feeling more like some weird prophecy. Plus, the editing of the faces together makes it feel like the photo is staring straight into your soul.

Australian rock boyband 5 Seconds of Summer rose to fame after One Direction member Louis Tomlinson discovered the band from a YouTube video. After touring with One Direction, 5SOS won the love and adoration of the One Direction fanbase before growing beyond that. However, at the top of their world domination, this Rolling Stone cover came out. The awkward photo brings back memories for any diehard 5SOS fan. The article was riddled with details making the band look like womanizing tools. As for the cover itself, it’s a bit scandalous, isn’t it?

“Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog,” reads this headline. We’re no grammar experts, but it seems like some punctuation here would really help out. Without the necessary commas, it seems like Rachael Ray really wants to eat her family and her dog which we hope is totally not the case. If you throw in a few commas, you fix that right up! This is also why we’re in love with the Oxford comma. The more punctuation in there, the clearer it is.

You may have seen The Dropout, which is about biotechnology company Theranos. It tracks the story of Elizabeth Holmes and her entrepreneurial spirit that turned out to all be a sham. After receiving endless praise from the media for her business and financial success, it came out that she was a fraud. Elizabeth was even convicted for wire fraud. Magazine covers like this serve as a reminder of her rise to wealth and then her harsh downfall.

It didn’t take long for fans to notice just how awkward this cover photo was. Seventeen has a demographic of teenage girls (especially fangirls) who are super excited to read all about their favorite celebrities. When Meghan Trainor’s cover came out, though, these girls were gutted. It was clear to them that the magazine had heavily photoshopped Meghan’s body disproportionately. Meghan’s music is largely about self love and self acceptance and Seventeen totally mitigated that. “Love your body,” says the cover despite the clear alterations.

Runner’s World magazine is no stranger to awkward. In fact, in 2016 the company put out its own article of their 13 most awkward covers of all time. Among the list were some pretty cringey moments, but this is probably their worst. Runner’s World typically depicts athletes in some stretching positions which can make their models look concerningly uncomfortable on the cover. Older covers, especially, take us back to '80s and '90s workout clothes which is awkward in its own way.

Newsweek really gives us the oddest covers with the oddest topics to consider. This one, for example, isn’t awkward because of the featured photo. A picture of a baby isn’t that wild to be the cover photo of a magazine like this one. However, the headline “Is Your Baby Racist?” is a bit jarring. Understanding the root causes of discrimination is definitely important, but this is just such a weird way to scratch the surface of that idea. We’re sure it caught the eyes of their readers, though, making them want to buy a copy.

The boyband world isn’t always easy to keep up with. New layers of drama come out quicker than you’d think. During One Direction’s era, the unthinkable happened: Zayn Malik left the band. Fans were heartbroken. Not long after that, an announcement was made that the whole band was going on hiatus. Teeny-bopper magazine Tiger Beat put out a cover story begging the band to come back. However, Zayn wasn’t exactly willing to pair up with his old bandmates for a photoshoot. So, the magazine had to (poorly) photoshop him into the background.

Sometimes magazines are covering far too many topics. Newsweek, for example, covers pretty much everything — health, culture, politics, and more. This far spread of topics leaves covers up to give glimpses of everything. This is usually not a big deal, but plastering discourse about Obama next to a smiling baby’s face looks a bit odd. It gets worse when you realize that another highlighted story is about Melinda Gates and her “birth control bombshell.” Plus, somehow the lead story just feels a bit sensationalized to us. Certainly, there has to be a better way to promote all of these topics at once.

Interview is a magazine known for working with some of the biggest names in different industries, especially entertainment. Its focus is on highlighting artistry and creativity. Teaming up with Jennifer Anniston in 2020 made sense because she is full of expertise in the onscreen acting world. However, this certainly was not her best work which is no fault of her own. The cover photo has her posed in a totally awkward way and they seem to have overly edited her appearance.

Rest in peace, Betty White! When Betty passed, the news was everywhere. Even prior to her death, everyone was speculating when we should expect to hear that Betty was gone. However, as her 100th birthday was fast approaching, the world was on her side and hoping she would reach that exciting day. People put out an interview with Betty where she discussed her life and they had a huge focus on how she would be celebrating the big day. However, just days before she reached 100, she passed away. Now, this magazine remains a totally awkward reminder.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Priyanka Chopra is one of the most gorgeous actresses out there. So, when she was featured on the cover of Maxim, a men’s magazine, it wasn’t totally shocking. The part that felt super awkward was when they completely photoshopped out her armpits altogether. It just looked super weird on the cover. Appealing to the male gaze surely felt a bit frustrating to Priyanka, but she handled the situation smoothly. She took to Twitter to post a picture of her armpits calling it a “pit-stopping” picture.

Since 1988, Hello! has been a staple in the United Kingdom. It is a derivative publication of the Spanish parent magazine ¡Hola!. Of course, over time, the rest of the world has gotten to know the magazine, too, as the Internet has taken over their readership. However, their focus on UK happenings has led to it often featuring royalty on its cover. This one of Prince William probably could have been done better. The magazine brags that this is an “historic photoshoot” and they’re right… but only historic for how awkward he looks.

Apparently, Stephen Colbert has seemingly appointed himself the face of America. In this incredibly awkward GQ cover, Stephen is holding a smaller version of himself. Not only is he making an uncomfortable facial expression, but his little “mini me” is as well… as he stares up at him. “Who’s your daddy now, America?” asks the cover. Probably still not Stephen Colbert. In fact, maybe it's one of the Founding Fathers instead. The whole cover just has a weird aura about it.

Facebook is introducing the “metaverse” and video games are figuring out how to fully immerse us. As virtual reality becomes increasingly more realistic in our lives, the mainstream media is grappling with what this could mean for our future. Time is known for discussing cultural changes and issues early on. In this edition, the magazine dove into virtual reality and how it’ll impact the world. Looking back, though, the cover feels awkward because years later we still have a lot of work to do on virtual reality. Plus, the way the boy even looks and is posing in the photo is incredibly uncomfortable.

Filmfare is an Indian English-language magazine covering pop culture and news. It has an incredibly large following and is probably one of the most popular entertainment magazines. In this cover, the editors chose to highlight something typically reserved for fiction: cisgender male pregnancy. Before photoshop had gotten good, shoots like this were manually done with props. In this cover, it's more awkward than entertaining. The pregnant man doesn’t even actually look pregnant. Overall, it being poorly done just makes it even more awkward.

Someone either had a lot of fun with this cover or totally overlooked what they were doing. Either way, there was definitely an awkward conversation in the office after it was put to print. Bloomberg Businessweek was once just known as Businessweek and has been in circulation since 1929. It is regraded as a very serious and respected periodical. However, this cover truly looks a bit silly. It shows a man with an arrow shape pointing out from him. It almost seems like it's a bit of an innuendo for something else… especially when you point out the labels of “perception” and “reality.”

Rolling Stone is one of those publications that is so huge and respected, that we expect they do their due diligence before going to print. It seems like they totally overlooked this one thing, though. When the company wanted Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the cover, they knew they wanted to play off of how she appears as the Vice President in the TV show Veep. They put a fake tattoo of the American constitution on her back for the shoot. However, history buffs called out a huge issue: the tattoo included John Hancock’s signature near her butt! The issue is that he never signed the Constitution. His huge signature is known for being on the Declaration of Independence.

Time is no stranger to causing controversy with their covers. In this case, this edition was released while the world was buzzing about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle choosing to split with the royal family. It brought up a large conversation about how outdated the royals really are. This cover underscored that. Traditionally minded and royal loyalists argued that this cover made Prince Harry look weak. They said it was awkward that he was hiding behind his wife who was standing with her legs somewhat apart. Aside for questions of symbolic power, many also pointed out just how airbrushed they both look, but especially Meghan.

At first glance, this InStyle cover isn’t too bad. Of course, like most covers, it's pretty heavily edited, but it doesn’t leave Carrie Underwood unrecognizable. If you look a bit closer, though, you’ll see something that can just never be unseen. Carrie is missing her wrist! It’s hard to tell exactly how this mistake was made, but it's clear that the photo was doctored in some way. No one’s arm can bend at any angle that would make this physically possible. Her wrist was simply removed!

Oops! magazine appears to have made a mistake. You can’t completely obliterate the queen of pop's face with photoshop and expect no one to notice. Taylor Swift is perhaps one of the most prominent women in all of music. When her face is on a magazine cover, her fans will flock to buy it. However, this magazine airbrushed her a bit too much. Now, she looks like she’s not even from the world. It’s totally awkward to see your idol with no pores and some piercing eyes.

Time loves to stir the pot with their covers. This one had a lot of people talking. By putting a photo of a woman breastfeeding her son on the cover, they were able to start a series of conversations. The first one was about the shoot itself and whether the photo was even appropriate for a cover of a magazine like Time that has such a high reputation. This conversation led to one about why breastfeeding should be considered inappropriate anyway. Slowly, these conversations kept spiraling to lead to other ones including, “Is this child too old to still be breastfeeding?,” which was the initial point of the article anyway: attachment parenting. Time sure knows how to take an awkward moment and turn it into a huge conversation.

Richard Simmons took on perhaps one of the oddest magazine cover collaborations ever when he did a shoot for Doll Reader. In 1998, this magazine hit the shelves and was immediately making people uncomfortable. It wasn’t that Richard had necessarily done anything wrong, but the overall energy of the photo is just generally unsettling. It has to be something about that creepy stare. The cover could be misleading, though! We’re sure whatever the article says about his personal doll collection is totally normal and not at all awkward.

Der Spiegel is a rather popular magazine in Germany. It was meant to be doing a biographic story on Queen Elizabeth II. Technically, the magazine did do that, but the cover sort of detracts from the whole thing. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up between the German and English languages. In German “die” actually means “the.” So, by saying “Die Queen,” the magazine was really just trying to say “The Queen.” However, the weird part is that “Queen” in German is actually “Königin.” If they had just kept the language consistent, they could have avoided all of this.

In 2014, singer Pharrell Williams - he of "Happy" fame - appeared on the cover of Elle UK sporting a traditional Native American headdress. This act of cultural appropriation unsurprisingly didn't go over well with many people. Relatively quickly, the singer was forced to release a statement that read: "I respect and honor every kind of race, background and culture. I am genuinely sorry."

During the 2012 presidential election Newsweek produced the above cover calling Republican nominee Mitt Romney a "wimp" and questioning if was too insecure to be president. The magazine described the cover and story as such:

"Is Mitt Romney a wimp? That’s our cover this week, which asks if the former Massachusetts governor—who’s dodging the press, hiding his tax returns, and fearing the base—is too insecure to be president."

In 2009, Newsweek did a story on former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, with an image of Palin wearing bike shorts gracing the cover. The politician did not take kindly to the use of the photo, which was from an  old fitness photoshoot, writing on her facebook:

"The Runner's World magazine one-page profile for which this photo was taken was all about health and fitness - a subject to which I am devoted and which is critically important to this nation. The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin."

At the height of the controversy over the OJ Simpson trial, Newsweek and Time magazines both ran cover stories featuring the disgraced former football star and actor-turned then-murder suspect's mugshot as the image. However, while Newsweek used the image as was, Time digitally darkened Simpson's skin and make him appear unshaven and blurrier, which attracted accusations of racism. The magazine was pulled from newsstands, and reissued with a different, unaltered photo of Simpson on the cover.

While Newsweek was in the right with the OJ controversy, the magazine found itself in hot water yet again over another controversial cover during the run-up to the 2012 United States Presidential Election. That year, the magazine released a cover featuring an image of Republican nominee Michele Bachman that some deemed unflattering, along with the headline "Queen of Rage: Michele Bachman on God, the Tea Party, and the Evils of Government."

When NBA superstar LeBron James first appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in 2008, he became the first black man (and only third man overall) to appear on the fashion magazine's cover. While this should have been a moment of celebration, some took issue with the way James was presented, arguing the photo showed him as stereotypically animalistic in the way he was posed with model Gisele Bundchen. As Jemele Hill explained to NPR at the time:

"Well, he looks beastly. You know, he's snarling, he looks very angry, and then, you know, she sort of looks like, hey, I'm on my way to a great party or a high-class affair, and he just looks like kind of an animal, and if anyone has studied on the history of King Kong or seen any of the imagery that was from the movie, the movie posters - I'm talking about the old ones, you know, from the '30s and stuff - this picture looks exactly like a huge percentage of the pictures they used to put out about King Kong."

In 1997, Time magazine featured Ellen DeGeneres on one of the most famous magazine covers of all time. The comedian - who at the time was starring on a popular ABC sitcom - came out as gay in an interview with the magazine. The cover featured Ellen with the headline "Yep, I'm Gay", and the issue has been lauded as a revolutionary turning point in LGBTQ+ representation in U.S. culture. Interesting for her part, Ellen tweeted in 2022:

"I remember coming out as gay on the cover of @TIME magazine 25 years ago today. I don’t, however, remember saying ‘Yep.’"

In February 2014, Elle magazine faced controversy for featuring Mindy Kaling on their cover in a full-face black & white photo. Some alleged that the magazine was showing a double standard presenting Kaling that way while white actresses like Amy Poehler and Zooey Deschanel were presented in full-color, full-body shots. Kaling said of the controversy, "I was for the first time on the cover of a fashion magazine, which is such an awesome, nice thing. I saw the cover… I thought I look so beautiful. I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never looked better.'”

Elle also found themselves in hot water over a 2013 cover featuring actress Melissa McCarthy. The actress was pictured in a large overcoat, and some construed that wardrobe choice as having been made to hide her "plus-sized" figures. the magazine responded with, "On all of our shoots, our stylists work with the stars to choose pieces they feel good in, and this is no different: Melissa loved this look, and is gorgeous on our cover."

Lena Dunham's appearance on the cover of the February 2014 issue of Vogue spurred controversy thanks to the alleged amount of photoshopping and retouching that went Ito the image. In fact, one website offered a $10,000 reward for an untouched image of Dunham from the photoshoot. For her part, the actress/author stood by the cover, saying at the time, "Vogue isn't the place that we go to look at realistic women. Vogue is the place that we go to look at beautiful clothes and fancy places and escapism and so I feel like if the story reflects me."

Britney Spears 2012 appearance on the cover of Lucky - ironic, given the name of one of her biggest hits - stirred ire in some fans because the images were so clearly photoshopped that Spears' hair looked more like a wig than natural hair. The magazine responded in a statement, "Thank you all for sharing your thoughts on our cover! As always, we will share with our team and we're sorry to have let some of you down."

30 Rock star, SNL alum, and all-around comedy legend Tina Fey has a noticeable scar on her cheek from a terrifying childhood attack by a transient man. However, readers of the 2010 issue of Vogue on which Fey was on the cover can be forgiven for not realizing that, since the scar was photoshopped off for the photo. Readers and fans alike were confused since by that point Fey had been on television for well over a decade, and her scar was always in sight.

Fans were outraged when Adele appeared on the March 2012 cover of Vogue looking, well, much slimmer than she was in real life at the time. Anne Becker, an expert in the media and body image at Harvard Medical School, spoke about the controversy to CBS News at the time, saying, "It forces the conversation between parents and kids about what images are real what are realistic, what are attainable... What is concerning about images that are altered is that it sets unrealistic expectations for girls and young women. If they are not yet sophisticated media consumers, there may be some dissonance between what they feel they can live up to, and what they can actually attain or what's actually healthy to attain."

For some reason that we can't explain, the Sunday Times published this cover photo melding the faces of Princess Diana and Rihanna. At the time the magazine said, "Rihanna is in love with the camera, and the camera is in love with her." However that explanation didn't fly for the many royal watchers and admirers who still hold the late Princess of Wales in high esteem.

In 1987, Bon Jovi was on top of the world. Their Slippery When Wet album, powered by hits like "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer", and "Wanted: Dead or Alive", was the highest selling in the country and their tour was sold out everywhere, all of which made a Rolling Stone cover inevitable. However, the magazine chose to only put frontman Jon Bon Jovi on the cover, which rankled the rest of the band members. In fact, 4 years later the band nearly broke up due to the building resentments associated with Jon taking a majority of the spotlight.

Canadian singer KD Lang had made a name for herself a country superstar in the late 1980s and early 1990s before breaking into the pop mainstream with 1992's smash hit "Constant Craving." However, Lang's political views combined with her coming out as gay in 1993 led to "several U.S. country stations banning her music, and she faced a picket line outside the 1993 Grammy Awards ceremony where she would receive the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance." Suffice to say, this Vanity Fair cover featuring supermodel Cindy Crawford giving Lang a traditionally masculine shave courted controversy.

Arguably, American pop artist Andy Warhol is arguably Mose famous for his 32 portrait series depicting Cambell's Soup Cans. Hence why when Esquire magazine wanted to do a cover story on Warhol in 1969, designer George Lois decided to incorporate a soup can into the cover. According to an interview Lois gave decades later, Warhol loved the idea:

"I called Andy and said, "I'm going to put you on the cover of Esquire magazine." And he said, "Wait a minute, George, I know you. What's the idea?" I said, "Andy, I'm going to have you drowning in a giant can of Campbell's soup." And he laughed and went, "Oh, I love it."

It's no secret that the Kardashians are controversial, Kim especially. In fact, her NSFW Paper cover "broke" the internet. However, while not as well known, this Interview magazine cover was perhaps even more awkward. In the image, Kardashian and her daughter dressed in the early 60s style of Jackie Kennedy and family, with a headline proclaiming her America's new "First Lady." Unsurprisingly, Kardashian's detractors were unhappy with all of this. Plus, others noted that the magazine seemed to have artificially darkened her skin color.

Having any entertaining pose as Jesus is asking for awkwardness and controversy, which Rolling Stone found out first hand in 2006 when they had Kanye West pose with a crown of thorns and the headline "Passion of Kanye West" splashed across the cover. Interestingly, for as much controversy as the cover courted in the mid-2000s, that's nothing compared to how badly it's aged given Kanye's ever-evolving, and ever... interesting public personal and incendiary statements.

This next cover isn't all that controversial in the grand scheme of things, but it's certainly awkward... especially in retrospect. In 2002, Teen People had a summer music issue that featured many artists taking a summer BBQ photoshoot, including a cover shot with Jay-Z, Ashanti, and POD lead singer Sonny Sandoval. At the time, all three were arguably on the same level as far as fame, however two decades later, Jay-Z is a near billionaire entrepreneur while the others are, well, not.

It's no secret that professional wrestling was over-the-top controversial in the late 1990s, with promotions - in particular Vince McMahon's WWE - pushing television censorship restrictions to the limit with raunchy and violent content. However, even as accepted as these tropes were, this 1998 WWF Magazine cover was still seen as awkward at best. It features the rebellious faction D-Generation-X posed with the American flag, the four male members implied nude behind the flag. Certainly something that wouldn't fly today.

This 2001 Teen People cover would be comically 2001if the timing of its release wasn't so sadly tragic. You see the issue, which featured Sugar Ray leader singer Mark McGrath and pop star Aaliyah, was dated October 2001, and was on newsstands in August of that year when Aaliyah unfortunately perished in a plane crash while filming a music video in the Bahamas. The magazine was kept on most newsstands after the tragedy, and has gone on to become a collector's item.

In 1999, Britney Spears appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in an image that would become both iconic and incredibly controversial. The still-teenaged Spears was splayed out on a bed, in pajamas clutching a Teletubbie in one hand and a phone in the other. The photo immediately caused an uproar, though Spears herself has consistently defended it, saying years later, "Holy Roller religious people made such a big deal about that photo, and I didn’t really get it. That’s the way I’ve always been, and I thought that photo was a good representation of who I really am.”

In December of 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hosted an interview and photoshoot with Rolling Stone magazine to promote their then new album Double Fantasy. Just hours later, Lennon was murdered. One month later, the magazine released a tribute issue, as explained by History.com:

"Then, on January 22, 1981, Rolling Stone magazine’s John Lennon tribute issue hit newsstands, featuring a cover photograph of a naked John Lennon curled up in a fetal embrace of a fully clothed Yoko Ono. The iconic Annie Leibovitz portrait would become the definitive image of perhaps the most photographed married couple in music history. "The now-famous photograph of John and Yoko is all the more poignant for having been taken on the morning of December 8, 1980, just twelve hours before Lennon’s death. Sent by Rolling Stone to capture an image of Lennon alone for a planned upcoming cover, Leibovitz had to negotiate the issue with John. Leibovitz recalled years later that Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner “never told me what to do, but this time he did. He told me, ‘Please get me some pictures without [Yoko].’ Then I walk in, and the first thing [Lennon] says to me is ‘I want to be with her.'” An angry Leibovitz reluctantly agreed to John’s request, and the image she captured proved to be one of her most famous—one that Lennon told her on the spot had “captured [his] relationship with Yoko perfectly.”

In the late 1960s, Muhammad Ali was one of the most controversial figures in America. As boxing heavyweight champion, his highly publicized conversion to Islam, opposition to the Vietnam War, and trash-talking ways alienated nearly as many fans as they enraptured. So, when Esquire put him on the cover, they decided to show the champion impaled with arrows to mimic famed Christian Martyr St. Sebastian. Esquire photographer Carl Fischer described the shoot years later as such:

“We’d practiced on a model beforehand, and when we tried sticking the arrows on the body with glue, they were so heavy that they hung down. So we put a bar across the studio’s ceiling and hung fishing line to hold up the arrows. It was a pain in the ass, because Ali had to stand very still for a long time, till we got all the arrows lined up at the right height. He didn’t complain, though. He was one of the few people in public life who was just like his reputation. He was funny. He was relaxed."