Kanye West's Take On The Balenciaga Controversy Is Definitely On Brand
Balenciaga is in hot water and Kanye "Ye" West is speaking out against them. The luxury brand made national headlines after two of their ad campaigns sparked outrage on social media. The fashion company is under fire after they featured a series of photos of children promoting a teddy bear handbag that was dressed in fishnet and bondage attire. In addition to the questionable purse, social media users also pointed out a subtle yet alarming court document in the background of another controversial holiday campaign. According to NPR, the ad featured a portion of a document from the "2008 Supreme Court decision United States v. Williams" and in that case, "the ruling upheld the constitutionality of a child pornography conviction."
Balenciaga issued a statement on Instagram to address the backlash. It read, in part, "We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative." The Spanish fashion house also stated that their $3,000 handbag should not have been modeled by children and that the court document in question was provided by a third party. "The inclusion of unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint."
As the brand continues to rectify the issue at hand, Ye addressed how he felt about the situation and gave his own perspective about what he thinks is going on behind the scenes.
Kanye 'Ye' West condemns celebrities for 'being controlled'
Kanye "Ye" West has never been one to shy away from what comes to his mind. The rapper weighed in on Balenciaga's controversial ad campaigns and appeared to be more outraged with the celebrities who didn't speak up against the brand. "This just shows you all celebrities are controlled," he said during an interview with TMZ. "You don't see no celebrities talking about the Balenciaga situation." Ye sent an urgent message condemning famous people and that he believes they are being swindled. "All of these celebrities out here, don't let them influence you in any way, because they're controlled by the people who really influence the world," he continued. "They're not serving God."
Although not many celebs have come forward to address what is going on, Ye's ex-wife Kim Kardashian did denounce Balenciaga. The reality star, who has close ties to the brand, released a statement on Twitter and said she was "disgusted and outraged" by the ads. "As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images," she wrote. "The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period."
Although, Kardashian praised Balenciaga for apologizing and removing the campaign, she is still re-considering her relationship with the luxury brand.