Balenciaga is taking a stand against child abuse following its recent controversy, which stems from some of the brand’s advertisements.
The entire situation came to public attention last week after people began slamming a strange set of ads, which featured young children holding teddy bears that appeared to be dressed in bondage gear.
Hey Photographers :
When Balenciaga hires you to shoot their new lookbook & you show up to find a toddler laid across a sofa with wine glasses & bondage gear arranged around them, you walk away. Period. pic.twitter.com/DSoHgQLM6O— Hoop (@xhoop) November 21, 2022
the brand "Balenciaga" just did a uh….. interesting… photoshoot for their new products recently which included a very purposely poorly hidden court document about 'virtual child porn'
normal stuff pic.twitter.com/zjMN5WhZ0s
— shoe (@shoe0nhead) November 21, 2022
The controversy swiftly spread like wildfire; social media users and major figures like Tucker Carlson didn’t hold back from calling Balenciaga out and accusing the brand of sexualizing children.
Balenciaga Condemns Child Abuse & Seeks To Right Its Wrongs
On Monday, the brand took to its Instagram page, which has all other posts archived, to release an apology.
The statement began with Balenciaga condemning child abuse and owning up to its “series of grievous errors.”
“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 reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”
After giving some backstory on the situation, representatives shared how Balenciaga will be moving forward.
Specifically, the brand is working on “reinforcing the structures around [its] creative processes and validation steps” in order to “ensure that new controls mark a pivot and will prevent this from happening again.”
We should also note that the comments were turned off on the brand’s upload.
Didn’t Balenciaga Just Apologize?
This isn’t the first time the luxury fashion brand has addressed its recent ad scandal.
Days ago, the brand released a statement to apologize and share that the ads in question were removed.
“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.”
People, including Kim Kardashian, nonetheless proceeded to blast Balenciaga. In fact, Kim went as far as to say that she was “outraged” and “shaken by those disturbing images.”
She also shared that she’s “re-evaluating [her] relationship with the brand.”
“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.”
Less than a day after Kim chimed in on social media, Balenciaga unveiled its second apology.
What do you think about the Balenciaga controversy, and do you think the brand’s apologies were enough?
