Karoline Leavitt claps back at her viral Vanity Fair closeup with 'behind-the-scenes' photos
Christopher Anderson also photographed Wiles, VP JD Vance, Sec. of State Marco Rubio, and senior staff Stephen Miller, Dan Scavino, and James Blair
December 18, 2025
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person ever to hold the role, clapped back at online critics on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, with a new Instagram post.
She shared behind-the-scenes photos of her getting ready for the Vanity Fair interview, including a snap of her adjusting her hair.
For the photos, she styled a leopard-print jacket over a black turtleneck, finishing the look with a bold red manicure.
Leavitt captioned the post alongside tagging the photographer Anna Moneymaker: “Behind the scenes before a live interview on the North Lawn of the White House, captured by @anna.money.”
The behind-the-scenes photos seem to directly respond to her recent Vanity Fair viral shoot, where she was pictured alongside Trump administration figures in a feature with chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Leavitt, who is described as the Trump administration’s “mouthpiece” by Vanity Fair, was snapped with a closeup for a portrait in which what appear to be lip filler injection sites were clearly visible, as reported by People.
The photographer was Christopher Anderson, known for his penetrating close-up portraits that appeared in major outlets like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
After the Vanity Fair shoot went viral on December 16, Anderson spoke with The Independent, saying, “Very close-up portraiture has been a fixture in a lot of my work over the years.”
He explained political portraits, saying, “Particularly, political portraits that I’ve done over the years. I like the idea of penetrating the theater of politics.”
He also photographed Wiles, VP JD Vance, Sec. of State Marco Rubio, and senior staff Stephen Miller, Dan Scavino, and James Blair.
In response to the Anderson interview, the White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told People that it was “clear that Vanity Fair intentionally photographed Karoline and the White House staff in a bizarre way and deliberately edited the photos to try to demean and embarrass them.”
