Kim Kardashian is “reevaluating” her relationship with Balenciaga, the reality star said Sunday night, after the luxury fashion brand was widely criticized for a campaign featuring children posing with teddy bears in what appeared to be bondage gear.
“As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images,” she said on Twitter. “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.”
Last week, photos surfaced of a Balenciaga campaign that showed children holding teddy bears in leather gear. One photo showed a child holding a bear that was dressed in wrist and ankle restraints with a lock and chain around its neck.
Kardashian said she had waited to speak out “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.”
“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,” she said.
Amid the criticism, Balenciaga said in a post to its Instagram story last week that “we sincerely apologise for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused.”
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“Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign,” it said.
As of Sunday evening, Balenciaga’s Instagram posts had been hidden or deleted. (The comment sections of Instagram posts are often commandeered as a public forum for expressing criticism of brands or public figures.)
Kardashian, who has worked as an ambassador for Balenciaga, said she was “currently reevaluating 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.”
Balenciaga and its parent company, Kering, did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Kardashian’s statements.
