The 7-Eleven convenience store chain became the latest US national retailer to boycott the newest issue of Rolling Stone over its cover story on Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
It joined drug store giants CVS and Walgreens, which announced on Wednesday that they will not sell the magazine, which critics accuse of “glamorizing terrorism.”
“7-Eleven, Inc. will NOT be selling the Aug. 1 issue of Rolling Stone magazine in its company-operated stores, and we are strongly encouraging our franchised stores to do likewise,” company spokeswoman Margaret Chabris told AFP.
“We talked with our operations management team in the New England area yesterday to gauge their thoughts and customer feedback, and they recommended/requested we take this position,” she added.
The retailer has about 1,700 company-owned stores and some 5,900 7/11-franchised outlets, she said.
Pharmacy chain Rite Aid has also joined the boycott, according to media reports, while Boston-area supermarket chain Roche Bros announced Wednesday it would not sell the latest Rolling Stone issue.
The magazine’s cover picture — showing a goateed Tsarnaev, 19, staring sadly at the camera with tousled brown curly hair — was likened to a famous Rolling Stone cover of the late singer Jim Morrison of “The Doors.”
Boston mayor Thomas Menino blasted the story in a letter to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, calling the provocative cover an “obvious marketing strategy” to generate publicity and sales.
“Your August .. cover rewards a terrorist with celebrity treatment. It is ill-conceived, at best, and re-affirms a terrible message that destruction gains fame for killers and their ’causes’,” he wrote.
The Rolling Stones article, titled “The Bomber” on the front page, was described by the magazine as a “deeply reported account of the life and times” of Tsarnaev.
The 12-page story is based on interviews with dozens of sources that “deliver a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster,” it said.
Versions of the Tsarnaev photo have previously been reproduced by other outlets, but Rolling Stone’s use of the image has offended many in a country still shocked by the carnage at this year’s Boston Marathon.
Tsarnaev faces a 30-count indictment — including 17 counts punishable by death — for his role in the April 15 twin blasts at the city’s marathon that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
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