Elton's baby drama

Supermaket brands image as 'offensive'...

10:30 28 January 2011

A supermarket in the US has caused outrage after it covered up a picture of Elton John, his husband and baby boy.

The store deemed the image of the couple and their new child on the front of US Weekly as offensive.

Staff say that complaints lead them to cover the magazine up with a 'family shield', designed to protect young shoppers.

The move has triggered fury among gay rights campaigners.

Stars such as Lily Allen have also come forward to express their shock at the supermarket's decision.

She posted a link to an image of the covered magazine on her Twitter page, before writing that she was "speechless".

According to the Daily Mail, one local resident, Jennifer Huddleston, commented that she was "shocked and horrified".

After receiving a large number of complaints, store management have now removed the shield.

The president of Harps Food Stores Inc. said:

"In this case our store manager received some complaints and, as has been our custom, placed the shield over the cover of the magazine.

"When we began receiving complaints at our corporate office, we reviewed the magazine in question, removed the shield and are selling the magazine in all our locations today without any shield."