Kim Kardashian has broken her silence over the recent Balenciaga holiday campaign accused of sexualising children.
The Skims founder and collaborator of the luxury fashion house, had been criticised for failing to “condemn” the since-removed ads, which showed two young girls posing with teddy bears that appeared to be wearing BDSM-style harnesses.
Another photo from the campaign seemingly showed what appeared to be an excerpt from a US Supreme Court case that upheld part of a federal child pornography law.
“Condemn Balenciaga have you seen their ads? You have four kids!” one Instagram user wrote under a photo of Kardashian wearing a shirt from Balenciaga’s collaboration with Adidas.
Her ex-husband, Kanye West also called out celebrities for their silence on Balenciaga’s campaign during a recent interview.
In a statement posted to her Instagram Story, Kardashian said the campaign had left her “disgusted and outraged”.
“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 reality star wrote.
“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 normalise child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society – period.
“I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again.
“As for my future with Balenciaga, 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 – and the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.”
Last Tuesday, Balenciaga “sincerely apologise(d) for any offence 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,” the fashion house said in a statement posted to its Instagram Story.
The label also apologised 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 photo shoot,” it continued in its statement.
“We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children’s safety and wellbeing.”
