| Advertisement |
Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Kim Kardashian has responded to the controversy around Balenciaga's recent ad campaign. The reality star says that she wanted to "wait to respond" until she had more information about the Italian luxury designer's holiday ads, which showed two young children holding teddy bears that appear to be wearing items connected with bondage.
Advertisement
The ads, dubbed "Toy Stories" debuted in November as part of Paris Fashion Week. Once a backlash ensued Balenciaga pulled the campaign and issued an apology.
"We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms," Balenciaga posted to its 14.4 million followers on Instagram.
Kardashian has been linked to Balenciaga for years. Her now ex-husband, Kanye West, had a partnership with the Italian design house for years. That partnership was dissolved in October in the wake of his antisemitic comments, which he later apologized for.
On Sunday, Kardashian posted the following statement to her social media accounts, per CNN.
"I have been quiet for the last 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," she tweeted.
She continued, "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."
She said after speaking to representatives from Balenciaga, she's glad that they've removed the offending imagery and believes they've taken appropriate measures to make sure it never happens again. But even so, she said she's "re-evaluating" her relationship with them.
"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," she said.
Kardashian's response was meant with some skepticism in the comments, with several posters saying she should have immediately cut ties with Balenciaga.
Photographer Gabriele Galimberti, who often takes photos of children surrounded by toys, shot the "Toy Stories" ad.
"I was only and solely requested to [light] the given scene, and take the shots according to my signature style," Galimberti, who works with National Geographic posted on his Instagram account. "As usual for a commercial shooting, the direction of the campaign and the choice of the objects displayed are not in the hands of the photographer."
Balenciaga is also in the midst of a lawsuit against production company North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins for another ad, which sharp-eyed viewers noticed had a copy of a printed version of the 2008 U.S. vs. Williams decision.
That decision upheld a portion of a federal child pornography law that "criminalizes advertising, promoting, presenting or distributing child pornography even if the underlying material does not constitute child pornography." The ad, since pulled, was for the Hourglass handbag, a collaboration between Balenciaga and Adidas.
Per Des Jardins' agent, Gabriela Moussaieff, the papers"were obtained from a prop house that were rental pieces used on film [and] photo shoots," she told The Washington Post. "Everyone from Balenciaga was on the shoot and was present on every shot and worked on the edit of every image in post-production." She said her client plans to obtain legal counsel and is being used as a "scapegoat."
In a statement, Balenciaga says that Galimberti's work will not be subject to a lawsuit.
