Vanity Fair may be on the verge of a full-blown internal crisis, all because of the possibility that First Lady Melania Trump could appear on its cover. According to a Daily Mail report, some staffers are so enraged by the idea that they’re threatening to resign on the spot if it happens.

The controversy stems from Mark Guiducci, the 37-year-old global editorial director of Vanity Fair, who reportedly considered the option. For some at the magazine, the very thought of showcasing Melania was seen as a line they refuse to cross.

One unnamed editor fumed, “I will walk out the motherf**king door, and half my staff will follow me. We are not going to normalize this despot and his wife; we’re just not going to do it. We’re going to stand for what’s right.” The editor went so far as to claim they’d bag groceries at Trader Joe’s rather than stay at Vanity Fair if the First Lady appeared on the cover.

Yet not everyone in the newsroom is convinced these dramatic threats would actually be carried out. Another employee suggested it’s all bluster: “It’s all talk. If they put her on the cover, people will protest and gripe about it, but I don’t see anyone quitting such a prestigious job over that.”

The uproar also reveals a double standard. Former First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on Vanity Fair’s cover three times, while Melania—one of the most photographed women in the world—has never been featured on the U.S. cover of Vanity Fair or Vogue, both owned by Condé Nast. In fact, the only Vanity Fair cover she’s ever graced was for the Mexico edition back in January 2017.

The current First Lady herself appears unfazed by the debate. When asked in a Fox News interview about magazine covers, Melania brushed it off: “Look, I’ve been there on the covers … on the covers of many magazines before. … We have so many other important things to do than to be on the cover of any magazine. I think that life would not change for anybody if I’m on the cover.”

Still, the firestorm highlights how symbolic these glossy spreads have become in the cultural wars. To her critics in the media world, even granting Melania a cover story is seen as “normalizing” President Trump. To her supporters, the snub shows just how unhinged and biased the liberal press has become.

Whether Vanity Fair ultimately follows through and puts Melania on the cover remains to be seen. But the fierce backlash from within the magazine proves one thing—when it comes to Donald and Melania Trump, the media’s obsession with image and power is as intense as ever.

And as long as Melania remains First Lady, the fight over how she’s portrayed will continue to fuel controversy inside America’s most influential cultural institutions.