Kim Kardashian breaks silence over Balenciaga’s controversial kids Ad
American entrepreneur and reality TV star, Kim Kardashian, has come out against a contentious photoshoot by renowned fashion brand, Balenciaga.
The campaign photos, which generated an outrage on the internet in the last week, showed children holding teddy bears and clothed in sexually-themed clothing.
The mother of four, responded to the advertisement by saying that the photos had left her “shaken.”
She stated that she had kept quiet for a few days so she could speak with the fashion team and find out how the campaign was created.
She posted the following on her Twitter account on Monday:
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.
As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images. 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.
I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again.
As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with — & the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.
Following the removal of the campaign on Tuesday, Balenciaga apologized, saying;
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 then issued another apology in relation to a different campaign that it had advertised on its website “unsettling documents” that referred to a Supreme Court case relating to child pornography laws.
Balenciaga wrote;
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 safety and well-being.