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Balenciaga Responds To Child ‘BDSM’ Photo Shoot Scandal: ‘We Could Have Done Things Differently’

   DailyWire.com
SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG, CHINA - 2019/10/05: French luxury fashion house brand Balenciaga logo seen in Shenzhen.
Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The fashion company Balenciaga responded to its ongoing scandal involving a photo shoot that featured young children holding BDSM-themed teddy bear bags by saying it could have “done things differently.”

The company issued the statement Monday afternoon after facing severe public backlash when it was accused of sexualizing young children.

The brand, which celebrities like Kim Kardashian often wear, displayed images on its website last week as part of its “Toy Stories” campaign. The photos showed child models posing with the brand’s teddy bear handbags, with the bears dressed in BDSM-themed gear from its Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 collection.

The company said it “strongly condemns child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative” and the two separate ad campaigns represented “a series of grievous errors.”

“The first campaign, the gift collection campaign, featured children with plush bear bags dressed in what some have labelled BDSM- inspired outfits,” the statement said. “Our plush bear bags and the gift collection should not have been featured with children. This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images. The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone.”

“The second, separate campaign for Spring 2023, which was meant to replicate a business office environment, included a photo with a page in the background from a Supreme Court ruling ‘United States v. Williams’ 2008 which confirms as illegal and not protected by freedom of speech the promotion of child pornography,” the statement continued. “All the items included in this shooting were provided by third parties that confirmed in writing that these props were fake office documents. They turned out to be real legal papers most likely coming from the filming of a television drama. The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint. We take full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the background and we could have done things differently.”

Balenciaga said it took several steps to correct what happened so it doesn’t happen again, including revising work and approval processes and working with organizations that “specialize in child protection and aims at ending child abuse and exploitation.”

The statement concluded, “Balenciaga reiterates its sincere apologies for the offense we have caused and extends its apologies to talents and partners.”

Related: Kim Kardashian Slammed For Statement Over Balenciaga Scandal: ‘There Is No Grey Area Here’

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