Get ready to be appalled or intrigued in the checkout line: The tabloid National Enquirer has run a photo on its cover of what appears to be Whitney Houston lying in her casket.
Reportedly taken at the Whigham Funeral Home in New Jersey and showing the pop queen in a golden coffin, the photo has already sparked outrage among other press outlets. The Washington Post, for instance, said a line had been crossed in publishing the photo.
But as the Guardian points out, photos of dead celebrities in the press aren’t exactly a new trend, especially when it comes to tabloids. The Enquirer famously printed a photo of Elvis in his casket in 1977, and more recently a long list of publications ran a photo of Michael Jackson’s corpse after it became part of the trial of his former doctor Conrad Murray.
Nobody wants to be remembered next to Bat Boy, but don’t expect the Enquirer to get classy—they’re in the business of selling papers.
