Fashion company, Balenciaga has withdrawn a recent advertisement featuring children with sexualized teddy bears, but not fast enough to avoid incurring the wrath of customers and potential customers.
The company also issued an apology for the ads, which show two young girls posing with teddy bears that appear to be wearing BDSM-style harnesses.
In one photo, one of the girls posed on a pink-coloured bed clutching one of the plush bear bags, surrounded by other purses and accessories that include what appears to be a chain leash as well as a Balenciaga branded dog collar choker.
“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,” the apology posted on its Instagram page read in part.
See photo:
The ads, which were already posted this week, supported Balenciaga’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection, which debuted this fall at Paris Fashion Week.
Some keen online commentators, while reacting to the ads, said one of the shots featured an excerpt from the U.S. Supreme Court opinion on United States vs. Williams (2008), which upheld part of a federal child pornography law.
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 its apology, Balenciaga said, ”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’s safety and well-being.”
However, some online commentators pooh-poohed the apology, which they described as an afterthought.
Balenciaga is very much cancelled in my eyes, I don’t care what explanation they come up with. don’t mess with children
— Gia (@virgoessence) November 22, 2022
Balenciaga severed their ties with @kanyewest due to a tweet.
Yet they expect us to just “accept their apology” after they get caught up sexualizing children?
They’re not apologizing because they’re sorry. They’re apologizing because they got caught.
— CJ Pearson (@thecjpearson) November 22, 2022
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
The fact that fashion brands like Balenciaga even feel comfortable sexualizing children in their ad campaigns show a massive problem in our culture.
It’s time to speak up louder than we ever have before to show that we WILL NOT and WILL NEVER accept this.
— Abby Johnson (@AbbyJohnson) November 23, 2022
Pedophiles in the media called the reporting on Balenciaga a “conspiracy theory.”
Meanwhile in reality, Balenciaga is either appalled or pretending to be, as the campaign was real. pic.twitter.com/hF56JcBR9Y
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 23, 2022
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
After public outcry, #Balenciaga has APOLOGIZED for the incredibly disgusting ads sexualizing children.
Keep 👏 speaking 👏 out 👏 when you see evil like this. Don’t ignore it. Be vigilant. Your voice makes a a huge difference. pic.twitter.com/X9sCn7xkdN
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) November 22, 2022
Remember when Balenciaga dropped Kanye West for being anti-semitic? Well, here is their new campaign featuring children, teddy bears in bondage and court papers that talk about pedo stuff. Seems like they no longer have the moral high ground #Balenciaga pic.twitter.com/7UQjBIpac3
— Purple Unicorns (@Purple_Unicornz) November 22, 2022