The Sexiest "White Man" Alive For People Magazine!

Maroon 5 frontman and reality star Adam Levine makes the cover of People Magazine's Most Sexiest Man. But you notice that men of color haven't been nominated since 1996.

I hate pop culture. I hate tabloids. I hate People Magazine. 

I hate hearing about celebrities getting married. 

I hate hearing about actresses or women in the news getting pregnant. 

I hate hearing about actors going from lover to lover. 

I hate hearing about actresses showing off their new hairstyles.

I hate hearing about celebrities who make their "coming out" parties a tabloid event. 

I hate hearing about celebrities and their personal drug problems.

I hate hearing about celebrities making their love lives the public's business. 

I don't care about this stuff.

When I picked up a People Magazine, I usually check out the magazine for some of the attention grabbing stories. Usually I pick it up when it talks about a hot teacher or an attractive actress who caught my eye.

But one thing I've often ignored was the Sexiest Man covers. I didn't care for them. I am not interested in these magazine covers of flaunting men. But as they continue to release another year of the most Sexiest Man, I happen to see more White men and not men of color on the front page.

Today, I will address this! Look at this list from Wikipedia:

Year	Choice	Age	Notes
February 4, 1985	Mel Gibson	29	First person chosen and then an Australian citizen.
January 27, 1986	Mark Harmon[16]	34
March 30, 1987	Harry Hamlin	35
September 12, 1988	John F. Kennedy, Jr.	27	Longest gap between selections: 18 months. Only non-actor to win. First member to have since died (1999). Youngest winner.
December 16, 1989	Sean Connery	59	Oldest person to win the title. First winner to have portrayed James Bond. First Scottish winner.
July 23, 1990	Tom Cruise	28
July 22, 1991	Patrick Swayze	38	Second member to have since died (2009).
March 16, 1992	Nick Nolte	51
October 19, 1993	Richard Gere Cindy Crawford	44   27	People took a one-year hiatus from Sexiest Man and instead awarded Sexiest Couple.
January 30, 1995	Brad Pitt	31	First of two awards.
July 29, 1996	Denzel Washington	41	First African American winner.
November 17, 1997	George Clooney	36	First of two awards.
November 16, 1998	Harrison Ford	56
November 15, 1999	Richard Gere	50	First two-time winner.
November 13, 2000	Brad Pitt	36	First two-time solo winner.
November 26, 2001	Pierce Brosnan	48	Second winner to have portrayed James Bond. First Irish winner.
December 2, 2002	Ben Affleck	30
December 1, 2003	Johnny Depp	40	First of two awards.
November 29, 2004	Jude Law	31	First English winner
November 28, 2005	Matthew McConaughey	36
November 27, 2006	George Clooney	45	Second win.
November 26, 2007	Matt Damon	37
November 25, 2008	Hugh Jackman	40	Second Australian winner.
November 18, 2009	Johnny Depp	46	Second win.
November 17, 2010	Ryan Reynolds	34	First Canadian winner.
November 16, 2011	Bradley Cooper[17]	36
November 14, 2012	Channing Tatum[18]	32
November 19, 2013	Adam Levine[19]	34

The only person of color to be nominated for the Sexiest Man in People was Denzel Washington in 1996.

That's over 17 years ago.

No, I don't disqualify Adam Levine for his cover. He's a very talented singer, producer and reality star.

But the point of the matter is simple: Why hasn't People Magazine put a man of color as The Sexiest Man?

Is there's something I'm missing here?

This was covered by The Daily Beast just last year.

Tricia Romano wrote that People Magazine for the last five years ignored people of color for the Sexiest Man Alive cover. There has been an African-American president (who, if he were a Hollywood hunk, should surely have topped the list), it seems preposterous that no other men of color have been picked as the winner. In 2008, square-jawed Aussie, Hugh Jackman took the top honor. In 2009, Johnny Depp and his rotting teeth were selected for a second time. Last year, nobody’s favorite, Bradley Cooper, walked away (shirtless) with the crown. And the year before, perhaps in anticipation of the release of Green Lantern (which bombed), Ryan Reynolds was bestowed this dubious honor. Call it the Sexiest Milquetoast Man Alive.

Where are the Blair Underwoods, the Taye Diggses, the Morris Chestnuts? The Terrence Howards, the Jesse Williamses, the Idris Elbas?

Well, they are inside, scattered throughout like chocolate sprinkles on a vanilla ice cream cone. And if you believe People magazine’s official line, it is what’s inside that counts.

A representative for the magazine wrote, in part, via email: “People Magazine is sensitive to representing people of color in its pages; our Sexiest Man Alive issue is no exception. Every section in this year’s issue includes a diverse group of men.”

How diverse? In recent years, men like LL Cool J, Eddie Cibrian, Usher, Drake, Vin Diesel, John Cho, and Mario Lopez have been featured.

Brett R. Johnson, associate editor of the website The Root wasn't surprised by the magazine’s stance. “That response is expected,” he wrote via email. “They can’t come out and say black men don’t sell magazine covers.”

Though there are some sports celebrities, like David Beckham, most of the picks skew toward Hollywood. There are very few music celebrities—and then, those picks tend toward teen dreams like Justin Bieber or the Jonas Brothers. If the magazine featured more men from sports and music—they might have had a choice of a few more men of color big enough to push cover stand sales. Kanye West, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan during their primes would have been fine cover stars.

A rep for People explained: "The cover subject is chosen solely on the following criteria: Is he hot at the moment? Is he sexy? Is his career on fire this year?"

Or to put it more clearly: there are no men of color to put on the cover because there are no leading men of color, save Washington and Will Smith.

“They’re pretty much the only black men who Hollywood deems worthy of being able to carry a big-budget movie as its lead,” said Johnson. “Other top black actors such as Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, and Laurence Fishburne do consistently great work but they’re rarely regarded as get-the-girl-type leading men—or perhaps more likely they just don’t fit People’s definition of sexy.”

Here's the list of People's Most Beautiful:

Nr.	Year	Name
2	1991	Julia Roberts
3	1992	Jodie Foster
4	1993	Cindy Crawford
5	1994	Meg Ryan
6	1995	Courteney Cox
7	1996	Mel Gibson
8	1997	Tom Cruise
9	1998	Leonardo DiCaprio
10	1999	Michelle Pfeiffer
11	2000	Julia Roberts
12	2001	Catherine Zeta-Jones
13	2002	Nicole Kidman
14	2003	Halle Berry
15	2004	Jennifer Aniston
16	2005	Julia Roberts
17	2006	Angelina Jolie
18	2007	Drew Barrymore
19	2008	Kate Hudson
20	2009	Christina Applegate
21	2010	Julia Roberts
22	2011	Jennifer Lopez
23	2012	Beyoncé Knowles
24	2013	Gwyneth Paltrow

I see that at least Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce were covered in People's Most Beautiful Woman issues. I'm just wondering if Kerry Washington is going to be on there?

What's your opinion on the matter?

Beyonce appears on Sony Music Group.

Adam Levine appears on A&M Octone Records/Interscope Records.