COVER STORY : You’ve Got to Hand It to Janet Jackson

Whose hands are between the lens and Janet Jackson’s breasts on the cover of the new Rolling Stone? Sensing the publicity value of a mystery, Jackson isn’t saying. But sources at the magazine say they “understand” the hands belong to her boyfriend, Rene Elizondo. The reason Rolling Stone isn’t 100% sure is that the magazine didn’t take the photo. It came from the same session by photographer Patrick Demarchelier that produced the artwork for the “janet.” album.

“We had a choice of shooting her ourselves,” says Laurie Kratochvil, Rolling Stone’s director of photography. “But they offered us this and the image is very powerful. With the album you get the face on the front and the stomach and legs on back. We get the middle part.”