Controversial magazine cover features Yahoo CEO

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (KGO) -- A magazine is getting exactly what they wanted - attention for its controversial cover.

It shows Yahoo's embattled CEO, Marissa Mayer, depicted as Jesus Christ. If you read the caption, it's in small print - "No resurrection in sight."

This cover came out the day before the story in an obvious attempt to stir up interest in Variety's piece on Mayer.

Before a word was read, the reaction to the illustration of the Yahoo CEO carrying a Y-shaped cross and the words "The end is nigh" drew some passionate responses.

A Gizmodo blog asked, "Good God, what was Variety thinking with this Marissa Mayer-as-Jesus cover?" Write Sophie Kleeman called it an "exercise in poor taste."

Responses in the South Bay were mixed.

"It's just blasting a woman who is in power, a CEO of Yahoo, and minimalizing her. And I just think it's wrong," one San Jose resident said.

"I mean, they know what they're in for. They're putting themselves out there like that. I mean, it doesn't bother me any," San Jose resident Denae Delarosa said.

Variety released the article at about 9 a.m. Tuesday. It was titled "Yahoo's false prophet: How Marissa Mayer failed to turn her company around."

While the controversial cover got a lot of attention, the actual words appeared to be more of the same criticism she has faced over her four years tenure.

It had people calling Mayer out of her depth, a micro-manager with no real understanding of the media business and losing the search and display ad revenue battle with Silicon Valley heavyweights Google and Facebook.

Yahoo did not issue a response to the article.

But as for the cover, a spokesperson said, "Running that cover illustration is Variety's own burden to bear."

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