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Kim Kardashian has said she is “re-evaluating” her sponsorship deal with Kering’s Balenciaga, breaking her silence after an ad campaign featuring children modeling BDSM-inspired products sparked a major PR crisis.
“As a mother of four, I was shaken by the disturbing images,” Kardashian said in an Instagram post on Sunday, explaining that she had remained silent about the controversial Balenciaga campaign images because she wanted to give Mark a chance to explain to him what happened.
Balenciaga pulled its holiday gift campaign last week amid accusations of promoting the sexualization of children. The brand’s teddy bear accessories, wearing BDSM harnesses, were a smash hit on its Spring 2023 runway, but Balenciaga was widely condemned when it featured the items about children in intimate settings , including on a bed. The brand apologized for the campaign and took down the images, saying it “strongly condemns[s] child abuse in any form. But the movement failed to diffuse the uproar.
Backlash from the problematic campaign has prompted netizens to unearth supposed pedophile messages embedded in the background of another Balenciaga campaign, its Spring/Summer 2023 spots featuring actress Isabelle Huppert. A printout of a US Supreme Court ruling on child pornography law was spotted in the background of a photograph showing her hourglass bag. The controversy earned Balenciaga a segment on Tucker Carlson’s conservative Fox News program, further fueling public anger. On the other side of the political spectrum, Instagram account Diet Prada called the campaign “disturbing and fake news.”
Balenciaga filed a lawsuit Friday in New York alleging that North Six Inc. and interior designer Nicholas Des Jardins used documents related to a child pornography case in the photos without permission. The brand is claiming at least $25 million in damages.
The public and the media “falsely and horribly associated Balenciaga with this repugnant and deeply disturbing subject matter,” the fashion house said in court documents.
In a statement on Monday, the brand further addressed the issue citing “serious errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility”. “Our plush bear bags and the Gift collection should not have been shown with children. This was a poor choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure to assess and validate the images,” the company said. .
Regarding the campaign featuring Huppert, the brand said the office staging was staged by a third party, and the inclusion of actual material citing a Supreme Court ruling regarding child pornography was the result of a “reckless negligence for which Balenciaga filed a complaint”. .” The brand nevertheless said that it takes “responsibility for our lack of oversight and control”.
Under creative director Demna, Balenciaga has regularly used daring stunts – such as marketing leather trash bags, wrecked sneakers and the bedazzled Crocs platform – to fuel debate on social media. In recent months, however, the brand has waded into riskier waters – sparking outrage with its choice to have rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) open its Spring/Summer 2023 show even as the artist made the criticized for inflammatory statements.
The brand has since cut ties with the artist and asked that images of him appearing on the show be removed from fashion media. In recent days, the brand also became the first major fashion player to quit Twitter over concerns that changes to content moderation by new owner Elon Musk could trigger hate speech on the platform.
Kardashian, alongside other celebrity spokespersons like Justin Bieber and Huppert, has played a key role in raising awareness of Balenciaga among American consumers, who have seen growth for the luxury industry since the pandemic. The TV personality and founder of Skims, who divorced Ye earlier this year, has worn the brand at a series of high-profile events as well as for her campaigns.
The star posted on Instagram on Sunday that she believes Balenciaga “understands the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary steps to ensure this never happens again.” “I am reassessing my relationship with the brand based on their willingness to accept responsibility for something that should never have happened – and the actions I expect them to take to protect children,” a- she writes.
In Balenciaga’s statement on Monday, the company said it was “closely reviewing our organization and our collective working methods…strengthening the structures around our creative and validation processes… [and] lay the groundwork with organizations specializing in child protection.
“We want to learn from our mistakes and identify ways to contribute,” the brand said.
Learn more:
Balenciaga apologizes after being accused of sexualizing children in ads
The label removed photos showing children holding teddy bears dressed in what appeared to be bondage gear after the footage sparked outrage on social media.
