The fashion house previously apologized for including children in its shoot and deleted all photos of the campaign online.
Kim Kardashian is speaking out in the wake of Balenciaga's recent controversial campaign. The 42-year-old reality star took to her Instagram Stories on Sunday to release a statement following the fashion house's BDSM-themed teddy bear bag photo shoot, which featured children holding the products.
"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 mother of four wrote, adding she's "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 continued.
Kim added that she felt the fashion house understood the severity of the situation and "will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again."
She also addressed her collaboration with Balenciaga, saying, "I am currently reevaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with -- and the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children."
In a new statement shared Monday, Balenciaga addressed the controversies surrounding their latest ad campaigns writing, "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 statement went on to say that Balenciaga’s decision to feature children with plush bears dressed in "BDSM-inspired outfits" was the "wrong choice," adding that the "responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone."
Balenciaga also explained that "third parties" supplied the documents for the ad, which included a Supreme Court ruling about child pornography. The luxe retailer claims they have since filed a complaint against said third parties for "reckless negligence."
"We take full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the background and we could have done things differently," the statement continued.
While the fashion house stressed that "internal and external investigations" are ongoing, they shared a list of action items that they are implementing in the interim, including "closely revising" its organization, "reinforcing the structures" of its "validation steps" and "laying the groundwork with organizations who specialize in child protection."
Balenciaga previously apologized for the campaign and took down the photos from all of its platforms.
"We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused," the brand said in a statement last week. "Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children this campaign. We have immediately remove the campaign from all platforms."
Balenciaga also wrote that the brand was "taking legal action" against those parties responsible "for creating the set and including unapproved items" for the photo shoot.
"We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form," the statement continued. "We stand for children safety and well-being."
Kim has been very public with her collaboration with Balenciaga, first meeting with designer and creative director Demna through her ex, Kanye "Ye" West. The brand cut ties with Kanye last month amid his various anti-Semitic comments and his release of "White Lives Matter" shirts. Kim, meanwhile, remained close with the fashion house.
In last week's season finale of The Kardashians, the SKIMS founder walked in the Balenciaga show for Couture Fashion Week in Paris, France. She also famously wore the full body-covered Balenciaga look for the 2021 Met Gala.
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