Kim Kardashian has slammed Balenciaga’s holiday ad campaign featuring children.
The Kardashians star, who regularly works with the luxury label, took to Instagram Stories to condemn the images and explain why she did not speak out quicker.
Kim wrote this on Nov. 27 “I have been quiet the past few days, not because I haven’t been shocked 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 those disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and anything against it should have no place in our society-period.”
Balenciaga issued an apology earlier this week after photos from an ad campaign surfaced showing young children posing with teddy bears that appeared to be wearing BDSM costumes. According to NBC News, one image appeared to depict a passage from a 2008 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding federal laws against pornography that features minors.
On November 22, the company posted a statement to its Instagram Story. “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.”
The fashion house claimed that as soon as the images were reported, immediate action was taken. Additionally, Balenciaga implied that the images used in association with its brand were not authorized by the company and threatened legal action against any content producers involved in the advertising campaign.