The shoe brand Converse has apologized after social media users accused the company of putting out a “racist” advertisement.
The ad in question, which shows K-pop singer Karina wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X sneakers, caused controversy as critics accused the company of promoting the KKK and lynching.
Converse apologizes for ad compared to KKK, lynching.
Details: https://t.co/5V78A1PhZY pic.twitter.com/4vewFSYNcs
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 18, 2026
“How any American who is remotely educated can look at this horrifying ad & not see a klan hood and the feet of a hanging body…makes me speechless,” one person said, echoing what many others were saying.
“No, you’re not crazy. Yes, the Converse ad is racist. Yes, it looks like a Klan outfit. Yes, it looks like a lynching. And no, ‘it’s just a shoe ad’ is not a defense,” another popular comment said.
The backlash got so bad that Converse released an apology via social media.
“We’re sorry,” the Boston-based company said in the statement, per ABC 7. “We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong. We removed it from our channels and are working to remove it everywhere it appeared. This should not have happened and we will do better.”
Karina has yet to release a public statement, but followers have also targeted her for participating in the photo shoot, even though she didn’t know what the final ad would look like. Several users have referenced the original, uncropped photo to defend her involvement.
Plenty of people are wondering what all the fuss is about.
“When you look hard enough, you find racism in everything,” one X commenter observed.
“It’s not about reality. It’s about the reality that the Party tells you exists,” another person agreed.
The Converse brand launched in 1908 and is best known for the popular Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker. Converse is now owned by Nike.
This incident comes on the heels of Target yanking a so-called racist costume from shelves after followers started freaking out about it.
Photos of the costume, which was called “Kids’ Glows under Blacklight Circus Clown,” showed a young black child modeling the outfit. The costume included a black-and-orange printed bodysuit and hood with an oversized smile and a mini top hat.
The listing and photos led customers to compare the costume to blackface performances from the Jim Crow era.
“We removed an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment,” Target wrote in a statement last month, as The Daily Wire previously reported. “It is no longer for sale. As a company, we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry.”
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