RHOBH Star Lisa Rinna Responds To Controversial Balenciaga Ad With Quite The Clap Back
"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Rinna isn't shy about speaking her mind. This time it's not her castmates, like Kyle Richards or Kathy Hilton, that are under Rinna's fire, but the fashion house Balenciaga.
Balenciaga has been under much scrutiny for its controversial 2023 spring collection campaign, as reported by Us Weekly. The ad featured children posing with teddy bears. The bears wore bondage-style clothing. People called out Balenciaga for posting inappropriate photos. As fast as the ad came out, it swiftly got taken down. Since then, both Balenciaga and creative director Demna, have apologized for the campaign on Instagram. Demna wrote, "I want to personally apologize for the wrong artistic choice of concept for the gifting campaigns with the kids and I take my responsibility. It was inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them."
Even though the brand and those who worked on the campaign have apologized, the damage has been done. Kim Kardashian, who has worked closely with Balenciaga, took to Twitter to talk about the controversial ad. Kardashian shared her disgust over the ad before saying, "As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand." Kardashian was only one of the many celebrities that criticized the campaign, and now there is a new name added to that list -– Lisa Rinna. However, Rinna's criticism of Balenciaga didn't come across the way she may have thought it would.
Did Lisa Rinna downplay the disturbing Balenciaga ad?
Many thought that when "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Rinna spoke about the controversial Balenciaga ad, she wouldn't hold back. While the star did take a jab at the fashion house, it was overshadowed by the statement that followed.
In a now-deleted Instagram story, the reality star talked about the campaign, per The Toast, a gossip podcast. Rinna said, "People want me to speak out on Balenciaga yes, those ads were wrong. I think we all agree on that," she continued, "I want to speak out on antisemitism and hate and racism and homophobia and Alex Jones and Kanye West, Trump and Elon musk, and the danger of that because to me that's what's really f****** dangerous." Rinna was referencing Kanye "Ye" West's antisemitic rants and Elon Musk's recent acquisition of Twitter. However, some fans didn't take her comments well at all.
Backlash followed Rinna's comments. One Twitter user wrote, "Lisa Rinna didn't speak out against Balenciaga ad. She hinted at it and made it to be a lesser problem than other problems." Since Rinna has taken down the post, some of her castmates have also weighed in on the ad. Garcelle Beauvais wrote on Twitter, "Obviously the #Balanciaga campaign was so wrong! Whose in these rooms making these dumb decisions #ProtectOurChildren."