American billionaire and reality TV star, Kim Kardashian, has spoken out against a controversial photoshoot by global fashion brand, Balenciaga.
The campaign images, which triggered an outrage on the internet in the past week, featured children holding teddy bears dressed in sexually-themed outfits.
Kim, who is a mother of four, reacted to the campaign, saying, she was “shaken” by the images.
She claimed she had remained silent for a few days in order to speak with the fashion team and learn how the campaign came to be.
In a tweet on her Twitter handle on Monday, she wrote, “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.
“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 normalize 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 — & the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.”
Balenciaga had issued an apology on Tuesday, after taking down the campaign, stating that, “Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”
The brand also followed up with another apology regarding a separate campaign where it displayed on its website, “unsettling documents” that referred to a Supreme Court case relating to child pornography laws.
They wrote, “We apologize 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 photoshoot. We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children safety and well-being.”
