Brittany Aldean, wife of country music star Jason Aldean, publicly trashed her Balenciaga gear presumably in response to the ads featuring children holding BDSM-clad teddy bears.
“It’s trash day @Balenciaga,” Aldean captioned in an Instagram post that showed her carrying two clear bags filled with Balenciaga gear.
“Show ’em how to ‘walk the walk’ babe!” her husband, Jason, said in response.
Well over a dozen verified accounts with thousands and millions of followers cheered Aldean’s move and said they would follow her lead.
“Burning all mine to the ground!” responded Amanda Ensing of Elevate Beauty, who boasts 1.4 million followers.
After nearly a week of total silence despite calls from her own fans to address the controversy, Kim Kardashian finally condemned Balenciaga in a Twitter statement on Sunday, admitting she felt “disgusted” by the ads, one of which featured children holding BDSM-clad teddy bears. Another ad that featured an office setting using adults, which was separate from the teddy bear campaign, referenced a Supreme Court child pornography case.
“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,” Kardashian began.
“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.
Kardashian then said she will further examine her relationship with Balenciaga as they seek to make amends for the advertisement campaign.
“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,” she said.
“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,” she concluded.
Balenciaga apologized in the wake of the intense social media backlash last week, saying that the company did not approve of the pictures and they “strongly condemn abuse of children in any form.”
“We stand for children safety and well-being,” the company said. “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.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.