Kamala Harris' Vogue cover defended by Anna Wintour amid controversy

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Anna Wintour is sticking to her guns.

The iconic fashionista, 71, serves as the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, which recently announced that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will serve as the cover star for its February 2021 issue.

The publication's announcement was made on Twitter on Sunday alongside two photos of the politician. 

The first photo was somewhat informal, featuring Harris wearing relatively casual pants, a black blazer and black-and-white laced shoes. She was seen in front of a pink and green background. The background colors honor Harris' Howard University sorority.

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In the second photo, Harris, 56, donned a powder blue pantsuit paired with a white tee and a matching necklace in front of a gold background. 

The former photo drew backlash for several reasons, including lighting and composition, as well as how it portrayed Harris, the first woman of color to be elected to the office of vice president.

After being lambasted on Twitter, Wintour offered a statement to the New York Times' "Sway" podcast.

"Obviously, we've heard and understood the reaction to the print cover and I just want to reiterate that it was absolutely not our intention to in any way diminish the importance of the vice president-elect's incredible victory," the editor said in a statement.

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She added: "We want nothing but to celebrate vice president-elect Harris' amazing victory and the important moment this is in America's history and particularly for women of color all over the world."

Furthermore, Wintour said that "there was no formal agreement" about which of the two photos would be used as the cover, but that the Vogue staff felt the less formal portrait better "reflected the moment that we were living in."

The Met Gala organizer said that she and her team were hoping to use an image that was "very very accessible and approachable" to represent "the hallmark of the Biden-Harris campaign and everything they are trying to" achieve.

The drama began when the photos were leaked. The publication shared the news itself not too long after, though viewers were still unamused.

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"The photo on the left is washed out, poorly lit, stagnant, junk," said one person. "How could you do such a disservice to a vibrant, beautiful woman? Shameful."

Others felt the photo's composition was below Vogue's standards.

"The hell kinda operation are you fools running over there? What professional magazine would use the picture on the left as a cover?" one user blasted. "KH looks will always be beautiful but you know damn well that background and lighting are poor and lazy execution and there is no excuse for it."

Anna Wintour serves as the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, which recently announced that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will serve as the cover star for its Feb. 2021 issue. (Getty Images)

"That photo on the left? You know she’s the most powerfully [SIC] woman in THE HISTORY OF US POLITICS, right? What the hell were you going for?" yet another said. "How hard did you have to work to make Kamala look like anything other than a well lit goddess of being the damn boss? Shame on you."

Vogue offered a statement to E! News as well earlier this week. 

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"The team at Vogue loved the images Tyler Mitchell shot and felt the more informal image captured Vice President-elect Harris's authentic, approachable nature — which we feel is one of the hallmarks of the Biden/Harris administration," the statement said. "To respond to the seriousness of this moment in history, and the role she has to play leading our country forward, we're celebrating both images of her as covers digitally."

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Harris does not appear to have promoted the cover story on social media, and her representatives did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.