Kim Kardashian Is Speaking Out Against Balenciaga's Controversial BDSM Teddy Bear Campaign

"As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images."

Kim Kardashian finally broke her silence surrounding Balenciaga's controversial holiday campaign. As a frequent collaborator with the fashion brand, Kardashian has made a statement condemning their recent photoshoot — which shows kids holding up teddy bears dressed in bondage — that many have accused of sexualizing children. 

"I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven't been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns," she shared on her Instagram Stories. "But because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened. 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 continued her statement, "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."

As for her future with Balenciaga, Kim said that she would be "reevaluating" her relationship with the brand, "basing it off their willingness to accept accountability" and "the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children."

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Earlier this week, Balenciaga wiped their social media accounts and issued an apology for the insensitive images — according to Insider. "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," the brand said, adding that it removed the images, which also included legal documents from a U.S. Supreme Court decision on child pornography laws, from all platforms and strongly condemns the "abuse of children in any form." 

Most recently, the fashion house filed a $25 million lawsuit against the production company of the shoot, as well as its set designer Nicholas Des Jardins. Per The New York Post, Balenciaga claims North Six and Des Jardins included the images of the court docs without its knowledge – which, the filing states, was “malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless." North Six clarified that it only worked on Balenciaga's Spring ‘23 collection with Nicole Kidman and Isabelle Huppert, not the campaign with the bear bags.

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