Major Fashion Line Under Fire For Using Children Bondage In Campaign
Balenciaga is coming under fire for a new ad campaign involving children and teddy bears in BDSM harnesses.
A major fashion brand is facing backlash after images from their holiday campaign have caused outrage from parents. The high-end fashion line Balenciaga recently released a kinky ad campaign featuring children and harness-wearing teddy bears. Kim Kardashian, mother of four and Balenciaga brand ambassador, is speaking out against the company, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Balenciaga recently took down their latest holiday campaign, removing it from all of their platforms. The company was under fire after releasing images for the campaign that featured young children holding teddy bears that appeared to be dressed in BDSM bondage harnesses.
Kim Kardashian, who often partners with the brand, revealed that she is reassessing her relationship with the fashion line after speaking with representatives from the company about the ad, which she says never should have happened in the first place.
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star broke her silence several days after the campaign was released, stating that she wanted to talk with the company directly before making a public statement. Before she released her statement, the reality star received demands from followers on social media, begging her to denounce the brand after Kardashian posted an image of her modeling a shirt from Balenciaga’s collab with Adidas.
Kardashian said that she was “shaken and disturbed” by the photographs and has claimed to be an advocate for child safety and would not stand for any “attempts to normalize child abuse.”
After removing their campaign, Balenciaga made a public apology. They implied that the images did not have company approval before being released, and they threatened legal measures against the content creators involved in the shoot.
A separate campaign by the company also featured an image of a document printed from a 2008 Supreme Court case that upheld federal statuses on child pornography. Balenciaga also made a statement about this campaign in which they apologized for displaying “unsettling documents” and condemned child abuse.
The shoot’s photographer, Gabriele Galimberti, claims that he had no power over the decision of the products or models of which he shot. However, he apologized for his contribution to the campaign. Balenciaga has since filed a $25 million lawsuit against North Six Inc. and Nicholas Des Jardins, the production company and set designer involved with the campaign, blaming them for the Supreme Court documents appearing on set.
Since becoming a mother, Kardashian has used her platform and influence as a celebrity to advocate for child safety and censorship. Last April, Kardashian took on the world’s biggest building game, Roblox, after her son saw a pop-up advertising her infamous sex tape from 2007. As a billionaire and one of the world’s most recognized faces, Kardashian has the time and resources to advocate for child safety, and she has the determination to do so as well.
Kardashian said that she respected Balenciaga’s apology, and she believes the famed label understands the gravity of the topic. Though the reality star believes the brand will never do something like this again, she is unsure of her future with the company. Kardashian is waiting to see how Balenciaga continues to handle the issue and expects them to take action to protect children.
