Does the New 'Rolling Stone' Cover Go Too Far?

Alleged Boston Bomber, Dzhohkar Tsarnaev, is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Really.

Dzhokhar (or Jahar, as the magazine writes it) Tsarnaev — who is accused of using a weapon of mass destruction in the Boston bombings that killed three people — is being featured on the cover of August's Rolling Stone, the magazine announced Tuesday night.

The fallout has already begun, with CVS pharmacy announcing Wednesday that it will not sell the new issue of Rolling Stone in their stores, in boycot of the controversial cover.

Rolling Stone released a statement Wednesday afternoon explaining the cover choice:

The feature "delivers a deeply reported account of the life and times" of Tsarnaev, "a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster."

Highlights from "Jahar's World" will include how he "played down the fact that he was a Muslim" but still "took his religion seriously," as well as how "he felt like 'two people' were inside him." Apparently, he also once told a friend that he "thought the [9/11] terrorist attacks could be justified."

Predictably, the Twitter backlash has been pretty brutal, with many pointing out that Tsarnaev's Instagrammed selfie makes the bomber look like a sexy Twilight character (it does). People are also noticing similarities between this cover and an old Jim Morrison spread:

Here's just a small selection of the angry Tweets:

Tsarnaev is currently being held without bail in a federal prison in Massachusetts. Last week, he pleaded not guilty to 30 charges associated with the bombing.

Vanity Fair claims to have obtained a recording of the Rolling Stone editorial meeting that led to the cover choice from a leaker named 'Edward S.' Here's an excerpt in print:

Male editor No. 1: Are you sure?

Male editor No. 2: Shit, yes, for the last time: we already had Billie Joe Armstrong on the cover this year.

Male editor No. 1: Christ, alright. Well I just got off the phone with Dave Grohl’s people, and he’s unavailable until August.

Male editor No. 2: Oh, well that’s—fucking great. And I already called, and Springsteen doesn’t want to do it.

Male editor No. 1: Who’s another . . .?

Male editor No. 2: I’m already opening Spotify . . .

Male editor No. 1: Make sure it’s connected to the Internet.

Male editor No. 2: [Sarcastic] Oh really, should I make sure it’s connected to the Internet?

Male editor No. 1: Well, last time—

Male editor No. 2: Oh, oh! What about Boston! Oh my God, of course. Seminal 70s and 80s band. They’re—it’s time to re-appreciate Boston! O.K., there must be a peg.

Male editor No. 1: Um. Um, um, um. It’s the . . . 37th anniversary of their debut album?

Male editor No. 1: Hm. That’s—yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty solid peg. Write that down. Google “Boston,” though and make sure we have some sort of backup for the meeting with Jann.