Kim Kardashian refuses to cut ties with the Balenciaga fashion house, despite a controversy involving the fashion house that saw the company linked to a photo shoot that placed children next to BDSM-themed items.
Kardashian, who has been in business with the company for years, spoke out several days after the company apologized for the scandal by posting its own statement and deleting its social media pages.
The 42-year-old reality star said that although she was ‘shocked’ and ‘disgusted’ to see the images in the controversial ad campaign, she wanted to speak to designer officials to understand how it happened.
“I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I have not been shocked and outraged by Balenciaga’s recent campaigns, but because I wanted the opportunity to speak to his team to understand for myself how this could have happened,” he said. Los Angeles-born celebrity in a statement on his Instagram page.
The Latest: Kim Kardashian, 42, issued a statement in the wake of a controversy involving the Balenciaga fashion house, with which she has been in business for years, after the company was linked to a fashion shoot that placed children next to BDSM-themed items. Pictured earlier this month in Los Angeles
She continued: ‘As a mother of four children, these disturbing images have shaken me. The safety of children should be given the highest consideration and anything against it should have no place in our society, period.”
He later issued a second statement that changed some of the wording, noting that “any attempt to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society, period.”
Kardashian said she’s comfortable with how the company reacted to the scandal.
‘I appreciate the removal of the campaigns and Balenciaga’s apology. By talking to them, I think they understand the seriousness of the problem and will take the necessary steps so that this never happens again.’
In an additional post, this time on Twitter, Kardashian said she was rethinking her relationship with the fashion brand.
“As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently reassessing my relationship with the brand, basing it on their willingness to accept responsibility for something that should never have happened in the first place, and the actions I hope to see them take to protect children. ..’
Kim initially released a statement on her Instagram Stories account on Sunday night.
He later issued a second statement that changed some of the wording, noting that “any attempt to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society, period.”
In an additional post, this time to Twitter, Kardashian said she was rethinking her relationship with the fashion brand.
Kardashian’s statement came after the fashion house filed a pair of $25 million lawsuits in connection with the ad campaign against producers who came up with showing boys holding teddy bears in BDSM gear for the promotion of their spring collection.
North Six, a global ad-friendly production company, is being sued by Balenciaga in a $25 million lawsuit along with model photographer Nicholas Des Jardins. Pictured: North Six’s company logo
The Spanish fashion house is suing ad production company North Six Inc., as well as set designer Nicholas Des Jardins and his own brand for including images of legal documents on the US Supreme Court’s decision on pornography laws. child in the same ad campaign.
Alleging that North Six and Des Jardins had deliberately included court records in the ad without informing their executives, Balenciaga described the move as “malicious, or at least extraordinarily reckless.”
It adds that the high-end luxury brand is now seeking “to make amends for extensive damages defendants caused in connection with an ad campaign Balenciaga contracted to produce,” a Manhattan Supreme Court summons reads.
Among the clothing worn by children’s toys in advertisements are fishnet stockings, chokers, string vests and chains leading many on social media to refer to it as ‘child pornography’ and ‘disturbing’.
Perhaps the most shocking image is that of a document from an earlier advertisement, photographed near a child and hidden under a bag, the 2008 Supreme Court ruling United States v Williams which examined whether laws against the promotion of pornography children violated the First Amendment.
Fashion label Balenciaga is suing the producers of an ad campaign many believe amounts to child pornography, featuring a boy holding a teddy bear dressed in a BDSM outfit.
One of the ad photos contained an excerpt from the US Supreme Court opinion in United States v. Williams, which upheld part of a federal child pornography law, which Twitter’s own fact-checkers confirmed.
Balenciaga, which is popular with A-list celebrities like Kim Kardashian, has removed two shocking images showing two girls holding a teddy bear in bondage-style clothing from the gift shop section of its website.
The ruling found that offering or requesting to transfer, sell, deliver, or trade in child pornography did not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, even if a person charged under the code did not in fact possess child pornography in which to deal.
The late Justice Antonin Scalia specifically noted that offers to engage in illegal transactions are categorically excluded from First Amendment protection.
“As a result of the defendants’ misconduct, members of the public, including the media, have falsely and horribly associated Balenciaga with the repulsive and deeply disturbing subject matter of the court decision,” the court documents reveal.
“The defendants are liable to Balenciaga for all damages resulting from this false association.”
The ads initially ran during Paris Fashion Week in late September-early October and were intended to kickstart the fashion house’s spring 2023 collection.
As of last week, Balenciaga not only deleted all of his posts related to his Spring 2023 collection announcements on Instagram, but also deleted his entire page.
On Tuesday, Balenciaga publicly apologized and announced that he will delete the ad from all of his social media profiles.
‘We sincerely apologize for any offense our Christmas campaign may have caused. Our teddy bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We immediately removed the campaign from all platforms,” the high-end luxury home shared on Instagram.
DailyMail.com has contacted Balenciaga for comment on the lawsuit.
Balenciaga issued a public apology on his Instagram profile last week, before deleting his social media history. Prior to the lawsuit, the brand had previously stated that it will take legal action against those responsible for the scandal surrounding the controversial ad.
Earlier this month, the Paris-based company said its controversial ad “reiterates the artist’s Toy Stories series, an exploration of what people collect and receive as gifts,” according to a press release.
It went on to say that it would introduce “dozens of new products ranging from household items, apparel and scents for pets, from everyday items to limited-edition collectibles and bespoke furniture.”
Some of the images were taken by Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti, perhaps best known for his work with National Geographic. On his Instagram page, Galimberti issued an apology saying that he did not have creative control of the shoot and that he was only in charge of the lighting.
He said: ‘I’m not in a position to comment [on] Balenciaga’s choices, but I must emphasize that I had no right in any way to choose (sic) the products, nor the models, nor the combination thereof.’
Galimberti continued: “As a photographer, I was only required to light (sic) the given scene and take the photos according to my characteristic style.
‘As always, the direction of the campaign and the shooting is not in the hands of the photographer.’
He concluded: ‘I suspect that anyone prone to pedophilia searches the web and sadly has all too easy access to images completely different from my own, utterly explicit in their hideous content. Lynchings like these are directed against the wrong targets and distract from the real problem and the criminals.’
Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti, who worked on the photo session with the BDSM teddy bears, emphasized that he had “no right in any way to choose (sic) the products, nor the models, nor the combination thereof.”
Galimberti promoted the images as part of a series of projects he called “Toy Stories,” in an apparent reference to the Disney/Pixar film series.
Galimberti also said that he had nothing to do with the photos of the Supreme Court documents.
Meanwhile, the father of a British child model who posed in the campaign defended the photo shoot, previously telling DailyMail.com his daughter had a “fantastic” time on set.
Balenciaga is usually associated with A-list celebrities like Kim Kardashian, but in the aftermath of this most recent scandal, model Bella Hadid deleted an Instagram post promoting the brand, but left behind several others promoting Balenciaga.
Balenciaga was founded by Spanish royalist Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1991. The brand’s current creative director is Georgia native Demna Gvasalia.
In 2001, the company, which trades annual revenues of almost $2 billion, was acquired by Kering from Gucci.
