Kim Kardashian breaks silence on Balenciaga ad scandal

After a week of silence, Kim Kardashian denounced Balenciaga’s controversial ad campaign that depicted children in bondage clothing.

The ad images came under fire last week when people took notice of the strange outfits designed on the stuffed animals, as well as some mysterious court documents that alluded to child abuse and pornography.

The likes of Kardashian and Bella Hadid, who have close ties to the luxury fashion house, have been criticized on social media for keeping quiet about the ongoing controversy. While Hadid, 26, appeared to delete an Instagram post promoting the brand, fans couldn’t take the deafening silence and demanded a formal explanation from the A-listers.

Kardashian claimed she wanted to give the brand, with whom she has a close partnership, an opportunity to discuss the situation with her in person. Out of immense protectiveness for her own children, the safety of the children is her top priority, she said in a statement online.

The “disgusted” SKIMS and SKKN founder even hinted at ending her relationship with the brand, saying she “reevaluates” when new information emerges.

“I’ve been calm for the past few days, not because I wasn’t disgusted and outraged by Balenciaga’s recent campaigns, but because I wanted the opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened,” he said the 42-year-old mogul tweeted to start a long thread.

“As a mother of four, I was shocked by the disturbing images. Child safety must be given the highest priority and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period,” she continued. “I appreciate Balenciaga’s campaign removal and apologies. If I speak to them, I believe they will understand the seriousness of the problem and will take the necessary measures to ensure that this never happens again.”

“As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently reassessing my relationship with the brand and basing it on their willingness to take responsibility for something that should never have happened – and the actions I expect them to take to protect children,” finished the thread.

Kardashian has been associated with the brand for some time, appearing in her fall 2022 collection campaign in a striking blue dress, the designer’s Adidas collab outfit and of course, who could forget her infamous warning tape catsuit.

Despite the reality TV star’s lengthy, four-part statement, fans weren’t convinced she was real, accusing her of being disingenuous and only caring about “money.”

“I don’t think you mean that sincerely,” said one user jeered. “I think you were just hoping it was over. There’s no way they paid for an ad campaign, didn’t review it thoroughly before publishing it. It seems you care more about the money.”

“This is ridiculous at best. And it’s just because they write you a check to stop playing,” another stung.

“I now understand why Kanye wants to protect his children at all costs! Pathetic statement!” someone else joked by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West and the reality icon’s ex-husband. The rapper was released from his partnership with Balenciaga following his hateful online tirades against the Jewish community last month.

After the brand denounced his anti-Semitic remarks, Balenciaga wasted no time in pulling the BDSM-style child ad after outraged viewers called for it.

“We sincerely apologize for any offense our Christmas campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been shown with children in this campaign. We immediately removed the campaign from all platforms,” ​​the brand said in a statement to The Post.

“We apologize for showing disturbing documents in our campaign,” the statement continued. “We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set containing unauthorized items for our Spring ’23 campaign photo shoot. We strongly condemn the abuse of children in any form. We stand for the safety and well-being of children.”

Balenciaga filed a $25 million lawsuit against production company North Six, Inc. and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins over the bizarre images. According to court documents, the fashion house is filing the lawsuit “to recover extensive damages caused by the defendants in connection with an advertising campaign that Balenciaga commissioned them to produce.”

The brand even claimed the production company took some of the images without their knowledge, calling the breach of trust “malicious, or at the very least extraordinarily reckless.”

Despite the luxury company appearing on Balenciaga’s website as a full ad campaign for its children’s division, the luxury company claims the images are incorrectly associated with them.

“As a result of the wrongdoing of the defendants, members of the public, including the news media, have falsely and horribly associated Balenciaga with the repugnant and deeply troubling subject matter of the court decision,” the court filing said. “The defendants are liable to Balenciaga for any damage resulting from this false association.”

Angry Twitter users sent cruel messages to the ad’s photographer, Gabriele Galimberti, who took to Instagram to set the record straight.

According to his statement, his hands were tied – he could not control the content and structure of the shoot himself and only had freedom of light and camera work. He was hired simply to achieve his “signature style” and had no say in the “direction of the campaign and the choice of items on display”.

Other A-listers flocked to social media to speak out about the controversy, such as Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent, who called the pictures “terrifying.” Meanwhile, others were caught in the crossfire and put in the hot seat for wearing something with the Balenciaga label.

Now any association with the luxury fashion brand is fueling online fury and has even prompted some Balenciaga wearers to ditch their expensive handbags. Even “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Guidice was slammed online for sporting a white sweater covered in a black “Balenciaga” logo.