Kim Kardashian Denounces Balenciaga After Disturbing Ad Campaign
Kim Kardashian has a bone to pick with the luxury brand she has had a long history with — Balenciaga.
In case you missed it, the fashion house is currently under fire for releasing an ad campaign that involved a shoot with two young girls holding teddy bears dressed in what appear to be bondage wear. Following online backlash, the brand wiped all traces of the campaign from its socials and issued a public apology for stirring controversy.
"We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms," the company wrote in a statement posted on Instagram Stories and went on to claim that it was unapproved. "We apologize for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign. We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items for our Spring 23 campaign photoshoot. We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children's safety and well-being."
Fans seemed dissatisfied with the apology and urged known Balenciaga collaborators like Kardashian and Bella Hadid to cut their ties with the brand. Kardashian, for her part, refused to have a say in the matter — until now.
Kim Kardashian says she's 'disgusted' and 'outraged'
Kim Kardashian did not mince her words when it came to sounding off about her feelings toward the Balenciaga campaign. The "Skims" founder took to her social media accounts to issue a statement, saying that, while she has long valued her partnership with the brand, she couldn't tolerate what it had done.
"I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven't been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened," she wrote on Twitter. As a doting mom to four kids, she confessed that she had been "shaken by the disturbing images," highlighting that "any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society." And, while she "appreciates" Balenciaga's swift action of removing the campaign online, she's "currently re-evaluating [her] relationship with the brand," saying that it will ultimately hinge on Balenciaga's "willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with."
Kardashian is a known Balenciaga fan and the brand eventually made her an ambassador. In the season finale of "The Kardashians," she noted that their partnership had been a long time coming. "I think the partnership with Balenciaga obviously came from Kanye but I was just genuinely loving their clothes and wearing them all the time," she said (via Us Weekly). "It was a really organic relationship that happened and those are the best ones." Whether or not that partnership will continue, we'll have to wait and see.