Kim Kardashian is under fire for renewing her partnership with luxury fashion house Balenciaga after saying she was “re-evaluating” her relationship with the brand following its controversial 2022 ad campaign.
On Monday, the reality TV celebrity shared that she was selected to be the brand’s newest ambassador, and emphasized in a statement that her “long-standing” relationship with the company was based on a willingness to do “what’s right.”
“For several years now, Balenciaga’s designs have been a part of my many looks – and some of my most iconic fashion moments,” she said in a statement. “This historic fashion house embraces modernity, craftsmanship and takes an innovative approach to design under Demna [the creative director]. For me, this long-standing relationship is built on mutual trust and a commitment to doing what’s right.”
“I’m excited about this next chapter for the brand and to become their ambassador,” she added.
In a video she shared on Instagram, Kardashian, standing in her expansive closet surrounded by a layered display of the bags, said she would “guess” that she owns 130 Balenciaga purses.
“My guess will be… 130,” Kardashian said before she began to count each one, finding that she had a total of 129 purses from the brand. “I’m one bag off,” she exclaimed. “You guys, I won.”
After sharing the post on social media Kardashian was immediately met with criticism from followers and fans who reminded the brand ambassador that they “haven’t forgotten” the ad campaign run by Balenciaga in 2022.
TPUSA reported at the time that the Balenciaga advertisement, which was shared on their website, featured two young children holding stuffed animals in “bondage” wear. Also pictured were scattered papers surrounding the subjects were court documents from United States Petitioner v. Michael Williams, a Supreme Court ruling regarding child pornography, and The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996.
Immediately following the ad campaign’s debut, critics lambasted the brand for “sexualizing” minors.
Days later, Balenciaga issued an apology, stating, “We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”
Kim Kardashian denounced the company’s campaign in a statement released shortly after, in which she called the images “disturbing,” and said that she would be “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,” the celebrity shared on social media.
“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,” she added.
After receiving widespread criticism, Balenciaga deleted its X (then Twitter) account, and wiped all images off of its Instagram before posting images from its uncontroversial spring 2023 marketing campaign.
Since announcing her renewed partnership with the brand, Kardashian has come under fire as she continues to get flooded with Instagram comments expressing “disappointment” in the mother of four.
“Did everyone just forget about the pedo thing?” one user remarked. “You’re a mother. We didn’t forget last years campaign,” another said. Others called the new partnership “tone deaf,” and accused the celebrity of doing “Anything for money.”
