If you didn't know already, Balenciaga has been facing some serious controversy as of late.
The brand's latest controversial ad campaign featured children holding teddy bears in BDSM style harnesses as well as a shot of a handbag with a page from a 2008 SCOTUS ruling (United States v. Williams) upholding the promotion or advertisement of child pornography as a federal crime not protected by free speech. Many agreed the images were inappropriate and disturbing.
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What happened with Balenciaga child abuse controversy?
"Twitter users slammed Balenciaga for promoting pedophilia and child abuse/pornography, saying the materials were deliberately included, and that the bears represented BDSM fetishes," Fashion watchdog Diet Prada explained, "Balenciaga quickly issued an apology, stating regret for including the bears in the campaign. They also said they would take 'legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items,' and that they 'condemn abuse of children in any form.'"
What has Balenciaga's response been?
As of today, 28 November, Balenciaga reacted to the controversy in a statement they posted on Instagram. The brand said, "We would like to address the controversies surrounding our recent ad campaigns. We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative. The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility. The first campaign, the gift collection campaign, featured children with plush bear bags dressed in what some have labelled BDSM-Inspired outfits. Our plush bear bags and the gift collection should not have been featured with children. This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images. The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone."
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The statement was posted by Balenciaga on their official Instagram account
They continued, "The second, separate campaign for spring 2023, which was meant to replicate a business office environment. Included a photo with a page in the background from a supreme court ruling 'United States V. Williams' 2008 which confirms as illegal and not protected by freedom of speech the promotion of child pornography. All the items included in this shooting were provided by third parties that confirmed in writing that these props were fake office documents. They turned out to be real legal papers most likely coming from the filming of a television drama. The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint. We take full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the background and we could have done things differently. While internal and external investigations are ongoing."
What will Balenciaga do now?
The brand finished their statement by explaining how they intent to rectify the damage, they explained,
"We are taking the following actions:
- We are closely revising our organization and collective ways of working.
- We are reinforcing the structures around our creative processes and validation steps. We want to ensure that new controls mark a pivot and will prevent this from happening again.
- We are laying the groundwork with organizations who specialize on child protection and aims at ending child abuse and exploitation.
- We want to learn from our mistakes and identify ways we can contribute.
Balenciaga reiterates its sincere apologies for the offense we have caused and extends its apologies to talents and partners."
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