Balenciaga has issued a statement about their recent controversial ad campaign.
The fashion brand shared a message on Instagram on Monday, November 28th.
“We would like to address the controversies surrounding our recent Ad campaigns. We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative. The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility,” the statement reads. “The first campaign, the gift collection campaign, featured a child with plush bear bags dressed in what some have labeled BDSM-inspired outfits. Our plush bear bags and the gift collection should not have been featured with children. This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images. The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone.”
Balenciaga Apologizes For Controversial Ad Campaign
Barstool Sports’ personality and host, Kevin Clancy, shared a video in which he called out the fashion brand for using “United States vs. Williams” legal documents in the ad.
The 2008 court case promoted making child pornography legal.
Barstool Sports Calls Out Balenciaga
“The second, separate campaign for spring 2023, which was meant to replicate a business office environment, included a photo with a page in the background from a Supreme Court ruling ‘United States vs. Williams’ 2008 which confirms as illegal and not protected by freedom of speech the promotion of child pornography,” their statement continued.
Balenciaga threw the blame on third parties for making the “props.”
“All the items included in this shooting were provided by third parties that confirmed in writing that these props were fake office documents. They turned out to be real legal papers most likely coming from the filming of television drama. The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint,” it read. “We take full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the. background and we could have done things differently.”
Balenciaga said it will learn from its mistakes and identify ways it can contribute.
The Fashion Label Promises To Learn From Their Mistakes
The Blast previously reported on the backlash Kim Kardashian received for continuing to be a brand ambassador for the label.
Kardashian fans ask that the mother of four sever links with Balenciaga amid their campaign image controversy. In a Sunday post, Kardashian finally spoke up about the incident with Balenciaga, mentioning everything but her intention to leave the company.
In the post, the reality star declared that she was “disturbed” and “shaken” by the company’s actions and said she was considering her relationship with the brand.
“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,” the Skims owner wrote.
The reality star has maintained a good relationship with Balenciaga and has been spotted in several of its luxury items on numerous occasions.
She has also been featured in several campaigns for the brand over the course of the last few years.
Further in the post, Kardashian emphasized the importance of protecting children and that “any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period.”