Source: Ben Gabbe / Getty
We must warn that portions of this report might be disturbing to some.
Balenciaga emerged as one of the top luxury fashion brands in the world. Yet, the company is currently deep in hot water after launching an ad campaign that is coming under fire. The ad in question featured a young child lying face down on a couch in front of wine glasses holding a bear that appeared to have bondage paraphernalia on its person, among other disturbing details.
Balenciaga, owned by the Kering company which also owns Gucci, Alexander McQueen, and other top brands, was trending on Twitter after a new ad campaign was launched featuring a young child sitting in front of a white couch and empty wine glasses. In one shot, the young child is seen holding a bear who appears to be wearing leather straps, chokers, and chains as sometimes seen in the world of BDSM.
Eagle-eyed observers on Twitter noted that the Balenciaga ad curiously had papers and letters strewn across a table. Upon further examination, it was revealed that the documents referenced a child porn court case.
In the tweet below, the images mentioned above are shown, including a display of the campaign offerings.
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
In one of the images, a young child is seen standing behind the wares and at first glance, this probably isn’t meant to be sold to children. In the image featuring the court documents, a black and white purse, which appears to be meant for an adult, rests atop the papers that are haphazardly spread out on a desk or table.
Outrage over the ad on social media led to Balenciaga scrubbing the images from its social media pages and issuing an apology. For some, the apology falls short of expectations. Further, many talking heads on the right are latching on to this bit of news with others mentioning the fashion brand cutting ties with Ye FKA Kanye West. In that observation, Balenciaga ending its partnership with Ye over antisemitism yet green-lighting the aforementioned ad is a huge contradiction of values.
Check out the reactions from Twitter below.
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Photo: Getty
1.
I guess I been cancelled Balenciaga cause I never was going to buy that ugly ass shit regardless
— Reginald
#ForeverTrill (@SheerOpulence2) November 23, 2022
2.
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
3.
So BALENCIAGA, a brand belonging to Kering which has a market cap of about 70 billion, posted children with bondage gear teddy bears and had an easter egg supreme court document about child pornography…and then deleted all their Instagram posts when called out for it and…
— I,Hypocrite (@lporiginalg) November 22, 2022
4.
Balenciaga child porn groomers have left Twitter and taken their tweets with them….thinking they have erased their dirty deeds.
All Balenciaga social media accounts are gone.
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) November 23, 2022
5.
Balenciaga encourages child pornography but draws the line at "anti-semitism." This place is finished.
— Mama T
(@ModestMama_) November 23, 2022
6.
My message to #Balenciaga @KeringGroup and #DemnaGvasalia
This is unacceptable! pic.twitter.com/Rdfskqfp5U
— Misan Harriman (@misanharriman) November 23, 2022
7.
The notion that Balenciaga were ignorant to the fact that their kiddie BDSM photo shoot also featured a document relating to child porn is utterly absurd.
Note how the company also left Twitter after Elon cracked down on child exploitation. The whole thing is beyond vile.
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) November 23, 2022
8.
Wait, shouldn’t balenciaga have their bank accounts closed, get banned on social media, stores temporarily shut down, and all celebrities condemn them first?
Or is that only for black artist and athletes?
— CCG BRYSON (@RealBrysonGray) November 23, 2022
9.
we do NOT fuck with balenciaga after that advert.
— the culture | magazine (@galactamelanin) November 22, 2022
10.
Most people are going to ignore the Balenciaga ad just to avoid speaking out against it. In a few weeks, most people won’t even remember & it’ll be business as usual for them & in a few years, Balenciaga will try again.. in a new way.
— Tori Nicks 2.0
(@MajestyRia) November 21, 2022
11.
if balenciaga took this matter so seriously they never would’ve published that campaign or come up with the concept in the first place pic.twitter.com/2lb3ygE0XL
— tori (@voguepearls) November 22, 2022
12.
Read the Supreme Court doc….it's basically saying child porn is illegal, but producing and distributing sexually graphic images of children is ok as long as its not obscene, sooo Balenciaga is basically acknowledging the graphic images but that it's OK per the Supreme court…. pic.twitter.com/a9p9kveNFr
— Crypto Norseman (@crypto_norseman) November 21, 2022
13.
I cannot believe Balenciaga just- who signed off???? Who’s idea was it even because they need to be in jail. This is concerning. Horrifying.
— 𝓐𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓵
(@angelmillk) November 21, 2022
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