Breonna Taylor to be honored on September cover of Oprah Winfrey’s O magazine

LOS ANGELES - Breonna Taylor will be featured on the September cover for O, The Oprah Magazine, the publication announced in a tweet on Thursday, stating that it will be the first time in 20 years that Oprah Winfrey will not appear on the cover.

The cover image of Taylor was created by 24-year-old digital artist Alexis Franklin and is set to hit newsstands on Aug. 11.

Taylor, an EMT who was Black, was shot eight times by officers who burst into her Louisville home using a no-knock warrant during a March 13 narcotics investigation. No drugs were found at her home. Her death was among those of unarmed Black individuals that prompted protests and outrage over racism and police brutality across the country.

Winfrey said in a statement that the tragic death of George Floyd and the ensuing protests prompted her and the magazine’s team to raise awareness about ”the abhorrent reality of police brutality against Black Americans.“

“‘Breonna Taylor. She was just like you. And like everyone who dies unexpectedly, she had plans,” Winfrey said about the 26-year-old Taylor, according to the tweet. “Plans for a future filled with responsibility and work and friends and laughter. Imagine if three unidentified men burst into your home while you were sleeping. And your partner fired a gun to protect you. And then mayhem.”

“What I know for sure: We can’t be silent. We have to use whatever megaphone we have to cry for justice. And that is why Breonna Taylor is on the Cover of O magazine. I cry for justice in her name."

Liked over 2,400 times, the tweet evoked a strong reaction among Twitter users, with many offering messages of praise to Winfrey for honoring Taylor.

The magazine also shared a behind-the-scenes video of how the Taylor cover came to life.

On July 27, it was reported that O, The Oprah Magazine would be ceasing its regular print publication in December. 

The brand, which is among the most recognizable magazines in the U.S., is not going away, but will become more “more digitally-centric,” a Hearst spokesperson said. There will be “some form of print” after the December issue, “but what it is exactly is still being worked out,” she said.

Oprah Winfrey launched O with Hearst in 2000 and today is the editorial director. “I’m proud of this team and what we have delivered to our readers over the past 20 years,” Winfrey said in a statement provided by Hearst. “I look forward to the next step in our evolution.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.