The Sun's Oscar Pistorius Front Page Called 'Disgusting,' 'Despicable' For Picture Of Reeva Steenkamp (PHOTO)

Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper is facing a massive backlash for the way it covered the shooting death of the girlfriend of Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius.

Pistorius has been charged with murder after Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed in his home in South Africa. The Sun — which is the paper closest to Murdoch's heart — chose to highlight Steenkamp's modeling career by plastering a huge picture of her in a bikini on its front page. "3 shots. Screams. Silence. 3 more shots," the headline read.

The reaction on Twitter was swift and outraged:

Neil Wallis, a former deupty editor at the Sun, defended it:

Feminist blogger Hannah Curtis launched a petition against the paper. Curtis called the front page "the most shocking and disrespectful thing I have ever seen published."

The Sun was not the only Murdoch paper to take this angle. The New York Post also published a bikini shot of Steenkamp on its front page.

The New York Daily News followed the trend as well.

(h/t The Guardian)