More on ‘Sports Illustrated’… Bald, ‘mature,’ obese swimsuit models finalists along with ‘burkini’; swimsuit issue as punishment?

So brave.  The woke writers, editors and marketers at Sports Illustrated did a fine job bringing “woke” to an iconic American sports magazine that first started publishing in 1954.  In just a few short years they help bring the dead tree publication to its knees.

Between their brave stands including all manner of not-so-sexy swimsuit models to using AI to write their stories, SI has been taking on water like the Titanic after striking multiple “woke” icebergs.

From PBS:

Sports Illustrated found publishing AI generated stories, photos and authors
Nov 29, 2023 6:56 PM ESTNEW YORK (AP) — Computer-generated writers … writing computer-generated stories?

Sports Illustrated is the latest media company to see its reputation damaged by being less than forthcoming — if not outright dishonest — about who or what is writing its stories at the dawn of the artificial intelligence age.

The once-powerful publication said it was firing a company that produced articles for its website written under the byline of authors who apparently don’t exist. But it denied a published report that stories themselves were written by an artificial intelligence tool.

How about that?  Those woke writers too darn lazy to write their own content, so they hopped on ChatGPT or something similar to generate content.

Hope their code skills are up to snuff, especially after what they did to the Swimsuit issue:

‘Sports Illustrated’ Swimsuit Issue to Feature 56-Year-Old, Plus Sized, and Bald Finalists

Sports Illustrated has introduced its next slate of finalist models for its upcoming swimsuit issue, and a plus-sized model, a 56-year-old model, and a bald fitness trainer will be among them.

The magazine introduced the six finalists that the magazine touted as its most diverse ever. The finalists were winnowed down from seventeen hopefuls unveiled last October, the Daily Mail reported.

Before this year’s winner is announced, the magazine is set to send the finalists to a photo-shoot conducted in the Turks & Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory southeast of the Bahamas.

And then there’s the “first” hijab and Burkini…  So brave.

And their first “transgendered” swimsuit model.  So brave.

Valentina Sampaio has made history by becoming the first transgender model to appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, the special edition that catapulted Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Ashley Graham and Kate Upton to superstardom.

On Friday, the 23-year-old Brazilian beauty was announced as a 2020 rookie for the upcoming issue (out July 21). In the images, Sampaio poses in a shimmering gold bandeau bikini as well as an asymmetrical white one-piece.

In a personal essay on SI Swimsuit’s website, the model thanked the publication “for seeing and respecting me as I truly am,” and “for understanding that more than anything, I am human.”

“Brazil is a beautiful country, but it also hosts the highest number of violent crimes and murders against the trans community in the world — three times that of the US. Being trans usually means facing closed doors to peoples’ hearts and minds,” she wrote.

The swimsuit issue had become so bad during Trump’s term in office that the Babylon Bee shared this:

Dad Punishes Misbehaving Son By Giving Him Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

May 16, 2023

SUNDERLAND, MD — After catching his teenage son looking at pornography, local father Daniel Gouge sat his son down for a heart-to-heart talk before meting out justice by giving him a copy of the latest swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated, which features Martha Stewart on the cover.

“Son, women are not objects,” Gouge said. “And I’m afraid the only way to help you understand that is by showing you Martha Stewart in a saucy bikini.”

He added, “Look at her, son. She’s 81. Older than grandma.”

“Ugh, Dad! No! My punishment is too great to bear!” the 14-year-old reportedly cried out in despair. “Please don’t make me look at Martha Stewart in a swimsuit! PLEASE!” Unfortunately for him, the matter had been settled by both his father and the cultural zeitgeist currently sweeping America.

Gouge left his son alone with the magazine to “think about what he had done.”

At publishing time, Gouge had threatened his son that if it happens again, he will make him read a copy of the Victoria’s Secret catalog featuring Megan Rapinoe.

There you have it.

I hope those staffers at SI learned how to code in their spare time after using AI to write content.