Balenciaga scandal - Brand issues statement, drops lawsuit as creative director responds to backlash
As it happened - Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga embroiled in controversy over ads featuring children
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Your support makes all the difference.The backlash surrounding Balenciaga’s recent ad campaigns involving children has remained strong as fans and celebrities continue to denounce the luxury brand.
The Spanish fashion house found itself embroiled in controversy over two ad campaigns - one with a child model holding a “BDSM teddy bear” and another featuring a Supreme Court decision on child pornography and a book about Belgian artist Michaël Borremans.
Addressing the fallout, Balenciaga “strongly condemned” child abuse and said it never intended to “include it in our narrative”.
Creative director Demna has also apologised for the brand’s “wrong artistic choice,” while president and CEO Cédric Charbit apologised “for the offense” the campaign caused.
The remarks did little to quell outrage, with many calling for a boycott of the luxury brand and for celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Nicole Kidman to cut ties.
Kardashian, a longtime brand ambassador, ultimately announced she would be “re-evaluating” the relationship, while her sister Kylie Jenner appeared to distance herself by dismissing speculation that she and her famous family were “covering up” for Balenciaga.
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As celebrities and notable figures continue to condemn the brand, The View co-host Sunny Hostin revealed that she also has an issue with the brand’s style.
“What’s also very distasteful, Balenciaga lately,” she said on Monday’s episode. “I mean, their stuff is just ugly.”
Although many fans are disappointed Kim Kardashian did not confirm she would be cutting ties with the brand over the scandal, a new report claims that the Skims founder declined an offer to star in a new campaign for Balenciaga amid the controversy.
According to TMZ, Kardashian allegedly turned down the offer, before issuing her public statement on Sunday.
The reality star has also reportedly made alternate clothing arrangements for upcoming events, after she was initially scheduled to appear in Balenciaga.
Despite apologies from Balenciaga, former customers have denounced the brand by destroying clothing and accessories.
Chloe Hennessey, 27, recently filmed herself cutting up a Balenciaga hoodie worth hundreds of dollars, while TikTok has filled with videos of other former customers doing the same.
Balenciaga fan cuts up thousands worth of clothes over teddy bear photoshoot scandal
Chloe Hennessey, 27, filmed herself cutting up a Balenciaga hoodie that retails for approximately £600 along with sunglasses, trainers and a T-shirt
As the backlash continues into its second week, Brittany Aldean, wife of Jason Aldean, shared a photo of herself throwing out her Balenciaga bags.
“It’s trash day @Balenciaga,” Aldean captioned the photo.
In the comments under Aldean’s post, fans and fellow celebrities praised her for seemingly disposing of her Balenciaga items.
“Yes mama,” Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson commented alongside a clapping hands emoji, while one fan wrote: “Thank you for using your platform to lead well!”
According to TikToker Brittany Venti, who became one of the first critics to condemn the ads when she posted a TikTok video about the campaigns on 20 November, she did so after thinking “that’s really messed up” upon seeing the photographs.
Venti, who spoke to BuzzFeed, said she came across the Balenciaga photoshoot of children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage while browsing for fashion news for her YouTube channel.
“I was like: ‘That’s really messed up,’” Venti told BuzzFeed. “They’re holding fetish gear. They’re promoting people’s kinks. And it’s not even a brand that’s supposed to be marketing toward children for any reason. They’re just using the children to market these fetishes.”
The issues raised in Venti’s video made their way to Twitter shortly after she posted her initial TikTok regarding the controverisal campaign.
There, a user by the username @Shoe0nHead, increased awareness of the concerns over the ads when they tweeted: “The brand Balenciaga just did a uh..... interesting... photoshoot for their new products recently which included a very purposely poorly hidden court document about ‘virtual child porn’. Normal stuff.”
As the backlash sparked by the social media reactions to the campaigns increased, Balenciaga was forced to address the controversy.
The brand issued its first statement regarding the ads on 22 November, when it removed the images and apologised for both the holiday ad featuring children and the Spring 2023 ad that included court documents pertaining to child pornography.
Despite the apologies, the furor over the campaigns continued, with Balenciaga issuing a second statement regarding the controversy on 28 November.
In the social media statement, the brand said it “strongly condemns” child abuse, while noting “it was never our intent to include it in our narrative”.
The statement followed legal action taken by the brand on 25 November, when Balenciaga filed a lawsuit against the production company behind the Spring 2023 ad.
NFL star Cooper Krupp weighed in on the Balenciaga controversy when he criticised the brand in a Twitter post on 26 November.
The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver called on his followers to “make [themselves] aware of the attack against our young ones” by the fashion label, and asked people to “stand up” against companies who “advertise evil”.
“To try to be a voice for our children, who rely on the protection of the men and women that were entrusted the responsibility of nurturing them and raising them up: please make yourself aware of the attack against our young ones by @balenciaga, and ensure that they are held responsible for it!” Kupp tweeted.
“For those of us in positions to create change in the way that companies manipulate people and advertise evil, please stand up!”
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