Kim Kardashian has been a pop culture figure for several years now, whether people like it or not. Besides her high-profile family and successful reality show, she’s an entrepreneur and is engaged to one of the most talked-about musicians of the time. Rumors have been floating around for months that she would grace the pages of Vogue, which angered many and confused others who thought the highly-coveted magazine cover would never go to a reality star.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour wrote an open letter this week to explain why Kim and Kanye were chosen for the cover–and they were chosen, she says, despite rumors that Kanye “begged” for it–and says she thinks Kim is gutsy.

“Part of the pleasure of editing Vogue, one that lies in a long tradition of this magazine, is being able to feature those who define the culture at any given moment, who stir things up, whose presence in the world shapes the way it looks and influences the way we see it,” she wrote. “I think we can all agree on the fact that that role is currently being played by Kim and Kanye to a T. (Or perhaps that should be to a K?)”

“As for the cover, my opinion is that it is both charming and touching, and it was, I should add, entirely our idea to do it; you may have read that Kanye begged me to put his fiancee on Vogue’s cover. He did nothing of the sort,” she added. “The gossip might make better reading, but the simple fact of the matter is that it isn’t true. There’s barely a strand of the modern media that the Kardashian Wests haven’t been able to master, and for good reason: Kanye is an amazing performer and cultural provocateur, while Kim, through her strength of character, has created a place for herself in the glare of the world’s spotlight, and it takes real guts to do that.”

Despite Wintour’s assurances, many are still angry with the choice; actress Sarah Michelle Gellar even tweeted that she’s going to get rid of her Vogue subscription. Others have taken the opportunity to spoof it already. Kardashian and West have yet to comment on the backlash.

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