The Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel took to social media to slam the lack of public outcry from celebrities after designer label Balenciaga apologized for campaign images some people described as “child porn.”
Frankel described the controversy as a “massive scandal” in a video posted on Instagram and said that celebrities have not “disassociated” from the brand because of their commercial relationship with Balenciaga, hours before Kim Kardashian released a statement calling it out.
“From a business standpoint, I assume it’s because they either are paid by this brand [and] legally they’re not allowed to speak negatively about the brand if they want to get paid. Or they have to associate with these brands because they like being on the cover of magazines and going to the Met Gala,” she said.
“Fashion means front row, fashions means currency, fashion has power, it seems these days. People like [Vogue editor-in-chief] Anna Wintour have more power than people in the entertainment industry.”
She then commented on people linked to the shoot who tried to distance themselves from responsibility including photographer Gabriele Galimberti who shot the Balenciaga Objects.
Galimberti told Newsweek the “direction of the campaign and of the shooting are not on the hands of the photographer.”
“Lynching like these are addressed against wrong targets, and distract from the real problem, and criminals,” Galimberti added.
Frankel said that during a recent “big photoshoot” for Interview magazine every member of the crew from the creative director down “were so intensely and intently involved.”
“I find it very difficult to believe the story of this shoot was not made abundantly clear,” she said. “In this particular case, the victims are these children who are objectified and sexualized. Models don’t have the power and those parents were probably just happy that their kids were hired to be models. So they’re probably not given any creative background.”
Frankel described the controversy as “definitely a s*** show” and it would have struck a chord around Thanksgiving because holidays are “a time of joy and purity for children.”
“So this is just hitting wrong. The fashion industry is in ‘cover your ass’ mode and they probably don’t know what the hell to do right now. It’s very unfortunate and hopefully will raise awareness on the greater topic which is the children. I just can’t understand how that article could arrive on a set like that and not make that connection. I literally can’t understand it,” she concluded.
Balenciaga came under fire over two separate photo shoots, the “Balenciaga Gift Shop” shoot for its Balenciaga Objects collection and a new joint campaign with Adidas.
Images in the “Balenciaga Gift Shop” campaign included a photo of a child holding one of the brand’s teddy bear handbags, which was dressed in a studded BDSM harness and collar and fishnet stockings. Another photo included a teddy bear in a fishnet vest and a studded choker.
The Adidas collaboration showed an hourglass-shaped handbag on top of a pile of papers, one of which included a page from the 2008 Supreme Court ruling United States v. Williams.
That Supreme Court ruling upheld a 2003 federal law that criminalizes advertising, promoting, presenting or distributing child pornography.
The court had to investigate whether the law curtailed First Amendment freedom of speech rights.
Balenciaga apologized for the photo shoot and told Newsweek it would stop selling the controversial toy bear handbags.
“We recognize the seriousness of this matter and condemn all forms of child abuse. We immediately removed the Holiday campaign from our platforms and will cease to sell the plush bears it featured,” a spokesperson said. “We sincerely apologize for any offense our Holiday and Spring 23 campaigns may have caused.”
Hours after Frankel’s post, Balenciaga’s most recognized ambassador, Kim Kardashian broke her silence on the issue.
The reality TV star has almost exclusively worn Balenciaga to major events since last year and starred in a number of their campaigns.
Kardashian wrote a statement on Twitter that she felt “disgusted” and “shaken” by the pictures.
“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,” she wrote.
“As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images,” she said. “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.”
Kardashian added: “As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with—& the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.”
Kardashian’s ex-husband Kanye West, or Ye, made a subtle dig at her silence before she released her statement while speaking to a reporter over the weekend.
West was recently let go from a number of multimillion-dollar deals over a series of antisemitic tweets.
The rapper, who was dumped by Adidas and Balenciaga, warned not to “trust influencers” because they were “being controlled.”
Kardashian is well known as an influencer for her brand endorsements on Instagram and elsewhere.
“This just shows you all celebrities are controlled. You don’t see no celebrities talking about the Balenciaga situation,” Ye said. “All these celebrities out here, don’t let them influence you in any way, because they’re really controlled by people who really influence the world. There’s no such thing as a celebrity influencer.”
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