Balenciaga ad features children holding teddy bears in bondage gear, SCOTUS documents on child porn case

High-end fashion brand Balenciaga has apologized after a recent advert showed children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear and included a small document of a Supreme Court opinion on a child pornography case.

The apology came after a firestorm of criticism online from many who have called the ad “disgusting” and a promotion of “child abuse.”

“At Balenciaga: someone approved the campaign, someone took the photos, someone searched for the models, someone searched for the location, someone produced it, someone did the retouching, someone did the catering, someone did the models’ make-up… nobody said? It was wrong?” one blogger tweeted.

Conservative commentator Rob Smith said: “Kim Kardashian is a regular #Balenciaga brand partner. Kanye called crazy for speaking of trying to protect his children from being sexualized by that family. Balenciaga drops the twisted kiddie porn campaign. CRICKETS from Kim K. and all of Hollywood.”

Shortly after their ad went viral for the above reasons, Balenciaga issued an apology through Instagram, saying: “We sincerely apologise 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.”

They added that they are “taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set, including unapproved items” for their Spring 2023 campaign. They also issued an apology for “displaying unsettling documents.”

“Balenciaga came out with a apology saying that they shouldn’t have let the children hold the bears. Yeah sure. It was All just a misunderstanding they meant no harm,” one Twitter user said in response.