A group of five avowedly liberal celebrities photographed on the cover of Variety while holding a large American flag may technically have violated federal code because they allowed the Stars and Stripes to touch the floor.

The cover of the latest 'inauguration issue' of Variety shows Hamilton actor Brandon Victor Dixon, filmmaker Michael Moore, actor Lena Dunham, talk show host Chelsea Handler, and commentator Van Jones standing behind an American flag.

The flag is being held up along its edges by Moore, who is standing next to Dixon second from left, and Jones on the far right.

The cover story bears the headline 'Now What?'

'On the eve of Trump's inauguration, Hollywood and the media raise their voices,' the cover story's sub-headline reads.

The cover of the latest 'inaugural' edition of Variety shows from left: Hamilton actor Brandon Victor Dixon, filmmaker Michael Moore, actor Lena Dunham, talk show host Chelsea Handler, and commentator Van Jones standing behind an American flag

According to Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8 of the US Code, 'the flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.'

There are no civil or legal penalties for violating the US Code on respecting the flag.

Dixon (left) is the Broadway actor who famously read a statement to Vice President-elect Mike Pence on November 19 after a performance of Hamilton. Moore (right) is a filmmaker whose movies paint an unflattering image of America's gun culture, foreign policy, and capitalism

The Variety cover is nonetheless riling up conservatives who have a long history of loathing the individuals depicted in the photo.

Dixon says no regrets for reading statement to Pence

Dixon is the Broadway actor who famously read a statement written by Hamilton show creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who was in the theater to catch a show on November 18.

Pence and his family were jeered as they entered the Richard Rogers Theater in Manhattan to catch the performance.

Dixon told Variety he has no regrets about the incident.

Handler (left), the host of her own talk show on Netflix, said that she would leave the US if Donald Trump won the election. Jones (right) is a commentator for CNN who was also an adviser to President Barack Obama

I was certainly a little surprised at the magnitude of things, but then my intelligent self kicked in,' Dixon says.

'I understand the media-news-cycle world that we live in. And my reaction was, "I'm happy to step forward and to speak about this at any and every opportunity", because people globally feel a need to hear that they are not alone in their desire to have their voices heard.'

'Take Trump at his word', says Moore

Moore is reviled by conservatives for his films, which have painted unflattering portraits of America's gun culture, the George W. Bush administration, the health care system, capitalism, and foreign policy.

In an interview with Variety, Moore says he 'absolutely' expects Trump to institute a ban on Muslims.

'What you’re going to see is, on day one, he’s going to rescind a dozen or more of Obama’s executive-branch regulations,' the filmmaker said.

'Before the liberals and the Democrats can get their heads screwed on straight, they’ll have 20 laws passed. Building a wall. Creating a Muslim ban. He’s shown how he’s going to do it.'

'He’s going to get away with it by making it a ban on Muslims who come from the following countries.'

'He needs just enough cover for his crowd to say, “Oh, he’s being reasonable there. He’s not banning all Muslims”.'

Lena Dunham: 'Women of every political stripe rely on Planned Parenthood, often as their only health-care provider

Dunham has stirred controversy in the past as well.

Dunham (above) stirred controversy in the past for saying that she wished she had an abortion

Last month, she apologized for saying on her podcast that she wished she had aborted a fetus.

Two years ago, Dunham denounced a right-wing news website, which published an article accusing her of sexually abusing her little sister Grace when they were children.

The website, Truth Revolt, referenced an excerpt from the Girls star and creator's recently released book of non-fiction essays in which she talked about looking at her sister's vagina when Dunham was 7 and Grace was just a year old.

'I am one of millions of women terrified about the implications of the coming administration on women's access to reproductive health care,' Dunham writes in a guest column for Variety.

Dunham said that Republican vows to de-fund Planned Parenthood would deprive women of the only source of affordable reproductive health care.

'Women of every belief system and political stripe rely on Planned Parenthood, often as their only health-care provider,' she wrote.

'When women are not empowered with affordable health care that addresses our needs, we suffer within our families, our communities, and as a nation.'

Chelsea Handler: 'Blame the Kardashians'

Just days after Trump was elected, Handler tearfully declared on her Netflix talk show that she would move to Spain, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In the latest issue of Variety, Handler slams Trump as a 'toddler.'

She accused the media of unfair treatment toward Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Trump, meanwhile, was covered by the press more as an entertainer rather than a real politician, Handler says.

'Stop covering [Trump] so much,' she says.

'They were treating him as an entertainer first. It was a reality show. We’ve turned into a reality show.'

'I blame the Kardashians, personally; the beginning of the end was the Kardashians. The way these people have blown up and don’t go away — it’s surreal.'

'Everyone is for sale.'

Van Jones: 'A pathological liar with a Twitter addiction'

Jones was a left-wing radical in his youth. In recent years, he has authored books on creating a green economy.

Before his regular appearances as a commentator on CNN, Jones was an advisor to President Barack Obama.

Jones slams Trump in the latest issue of Variety, calling the president-elect 'a bully' and 'a pathological liar with a Twitter addiction.'

He said that his life changed following Election Night, when he famously declared on television that Trump's victory was the result of a 'whitelash.'

'For a lot of people, especially liberals and progressives, election night was a traumatic shock, like when JFK was shot or the Twin Towers fell,' Jones told Variety.

'It was a huge media moment. And for a lot of them, I was their guy on CNN that night.'

'For several days, I didn’t have to pay for anything. I would walk into a store or sit down at a restaurant or get in a cab, and the workers wouldn’t charge me, to say “thank you”.'

Jones said that Trump's victory made him challenge long-held beliefs.

'You’re taught your whole life not to be a bully, and this time a bully won,' he said.

'It upsets your whole view when someone like that wins.'