Balenciaga has been in the eye of a storm since two recent ad campaigns were accused of “sexualizing children”. After this the luxury fashion house apologized. It is also suing its production company, North Six Inc., for $25 million. Some of the pictures showed children posing with plush teddy bear bags with Bandhan-themed elements. In another of Balenciaga’s ad campaign images, the company had images containing Supreme Court documents on the child pornography case.
Balenciaga has removed all of the controversial photos and issued a detailed apology on Instagram.
Taking full responsibility for the photographs and advertisements showing children with Bondage-themed bags, Balenciaga placed part of the blame for the second ad on a “third party”, apparently North Six Inc. The 2008 Supreme Court court papers were used in this particular photoshoot. The case, United States v. Williams, as props. In the final decision of the case, the US Supreme Court criminalized the promotion of child pornography. This judgment reiterated the constitutionality of the Protect Act. The PROTECT Act is a federal law that created punishment for sexual abuse and other forms of child abuse.
In an apology posted on Instagram, Balenciaga said that he was assured by a “third party” that the props used in the photoshoot were fake office documents. It attributed the inclusion of these documents in the photoshoot to “reckless negligence” and revealed that the company had filed a complaint regarding the same.
Kim Kardashian, a Balenciaga ambassador, said she was upset by the campaign and is currently re-evaluating her relationship with the brand. “As a mother of four, I am shaken by the disturbing images. The safety of children should be held in the highest regard and any attempt to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society,” Kim wrote in a series of tweets.
I’ve been quiet the past few days, not because I’m not disappointed and annoyed by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted the opportunity to talk to their team to see for myself how this happened.—Kim kardashian (@kim kardashian) November 27, 2022
As a mother of four, I am shaken by the disturbing images. The safety of children must be held in the highest regard and any attempt to normalize child abuse of any kind has no place in our society – Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) November 27, 2022
I appreciate the removal of the campaigns and the apology by Balenciaga. Having spoken with them, I am sure they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take necessary measures to ensure this never happens again.- Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) November 27, 2022
As for my future with Balenciaga, I’m currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand based on their willingness to accept responsibility for something that should never have started – and I’m committed to those actions. Looking forward to seeing the kids who are taking them to save them.- Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) November 28, 2022
Social media users are unimpressed with Balenciaga’s apology and many allege that the claim that they were in the dark about certain aspects, including the Supreme Court documents in the photos, is a farce. Some users have highlighted the multiple stages of approval for one such campaign, which were passed off as evidence of the company being warned about what they were doing.
It’s Balenciaga Outrage Time!!! Of course, they knew about every detail of that ad campaign. This requires acceptance at many levels. His $25M lawsuit against the photographer is theatre. Carry on this story!!! PROTEST BALENCIAGA!!!— Jessica Faith (@jfmaclean) November 26, 2022
Balenciaga has released this statement. I’m sorry but you knew what you were doing when you did this. You had every intention of doing this. Taking it down and deleting it isn’t going to help you. You are disgusting, cheap and not worth the money! done! #cancelbalenciaga pic.twitter.com/wT7g9yNUj3— Steph 💞 (@Steph_1776) November 22, 2022
#CancelBalenciaga is trending on Twitter and people are expressing their outrage at the “disgusting” and “sick” imagery she has run.
read all Latest Lifestyle News Here