Kim Kardashian ‘Disgusted and Outraged’ by Balenciaga Ad Campaigns, Is ‘Re-Evaluating’ Her Relationship With the Brand

“As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images,” the reality superstar said

Kim Kardashian broke her silence Sunday night about the recent Balenciaga ad campaign that drew accusations of child sexualization, saying in a lengthy statement on Instagram that she is “disgusted and outraged” by the ads and is “currently re-evaluating” her relationship with the brand.

“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,” said Kardashian, who has long been associated with the Spain-based fashion house.

She continued: “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.”

On Friday, the fashion house filed a legal summons with the New York Supreme Court for the County of New York against the production company, North Six, and set designer, Nicholas Des Jardins, for two ads in its Spring 2023 campaign — one which featured children holding teddy bears wearing bondage-themed gear and, in the other, a court document concerning child pornography that is tossed among other papers. North Six was not responsible for the teddy bear campaign, which is not the center of this complaint, but is – along with Des Jardins — responsible for the ad with court docs.

The brand seeks redress for “extensive damages” to its reputation caused by the Spring 2023 campaign. If the defendant failed to respond to the summons, “judgment will be taken against you jointly and severally by default for an amount to be determined according to proof, but no less than $25,000,000.”

After the photos went viral, Balenciaga removed the images and issued an apology on Instagram.

“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,” Kardashian wrote.

“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.”

In a statement to The Washington Post, Des Jardins’s agent, Gabriela Moussaieff, said the documents used in the ad “were obtained from a prop house that were rental pieces used on film [and] photo shoots. Everyone from Balenciaga was on the shoot and was present on every shot and worked on the edit of every image in post production.” Moussaieff added that Des Jardins was “being used as a scapegoat” and is hiring a legal team.

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