Business & Tech

CVS, Walgreens Won't Sell Controversial Rolling Stone Issue

The pharmacy chains won't sell Rolling Stone's August issue, which features Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover.

This article was reported and written by editor Matthew Sanderson.

If you're looking to get your latest Rolling Stone issue this Friday in Marina del Rey, you won't be able to find it at CVS or Walgreens.

In a spot typically reserved for iconic rock stars, Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's face appears on the new issue, due on newsstands on Friday.

The feature has sparked outrage across social media. The Facebook page Boycott Rolling Stone Magazine for their latest cover had a rapidly growing 36,000 followers on Wednesday morning.

CVS, a New England-based pharmacy chain, issued the following on its Facebook page Wednesday as uproar on social media grew:

CVS/pharmacy has decided not to sell the current issue of Rolling Stone featuring a cover photo of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect. As a company with deep roots in New England and a strong presence in Boston, we believe this is the right decision out of respect for the victims of the attack and their loved ones.

A representative from the company's public relations department told Patch on Wednesday the statement applies to all its locations, including those in Southern California.

Walgreens announced in a tweet from the drugstore's official account that it would not be carrying the issue, either.

The Rolling Stone cover is headlined “The Bomber: How a Popular, Promising Student Was Failed by His Family, Fell into Radical Islam, and Became a Monster."

Editors of Rolling Stone released the following statement in response to the uproar over its cover:

Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens.

7-Eleven will be selling the issue, the Huffington Post reported.

—Editor Nicole Mooradian contributed to this report.

What are your thoughts on this move by CVS and Walgreens? Tell us in the comments.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here