Nudity on the cover of a magazine is intended to create buzz, and in turn, sell newsstand copies. But it can take many forms. From the funny to the artistic to the totally bizarre (anyone remember Blind Melon on the cover of a November 1993 issue of Rolling Stone?), we’ve rounded up 40 magazine covers featuring famous celebrities in the buff. We think it really puts into perspective how provocative this new True Blood cast cover of Rolling Stone is. Not only does it feature multiple nude celebrities, but the image is extremely suggestive, rather than silly or playful, which is usually the case in the rare instance of male cover nudity. Click through and examine the evidence.
1. Rolling Stone, February 1970
2. Vanity Fair, August 1991
3. Vanity Fair, August 1992
4. Rolling Stone, February 1993
5. Rolling Stone, September 1993
6. Rolling Stone, November 1993
7. Esquire, February 1994
8. Rolling Stone, March 1996
9. Rolling Stone, October 1996
10. Interview, May 1999
11. Time, June 1999
12. Rolling Stone, April 2000
13. In Style, September 2001
14. GQ, December 2002
15. Entertainment Weekly, May 2003
16. Rolling Stone, October 2003
17. Rolling Stone, November 2003
18. Entertainment Weekly, December 2004
19. Esquire, April 2004
20. GQ, December 2005
21. Vanity Fair, February 2006
22. Harper’s Bazaar, August 2006
23. Marie Claire, December 2006
24. Rolling Stone, April 2007
25. Esquire, June 2007
26. Interview, September 2007
27. Interview, January 2008
28. Marie Claire, January 2008
29. New York Magazine, February 2008
30. Esquire, May 2008
31. GQ, June 2008
32. Vanity Fair, December 2008
33. GQ, January 2009
34. Vanity Fair, May 2009
35. Rolling Stone, June 2009
36. GQ, July 2009
37. GQ, January 2010
38. Essence, July 2010
39. Rolling Stone, July 2010
40. Rolling Stone, September 2010