Lala Kent is calling out Balenciaga over a “horrifying” child ad campaign that has since been pulled.Instagram/Lala Kent
Lala Kent is furious with Balenciaga over a since-pulled ad campaign featuring BDSM teddy bears modeled by children.
The photos, which ran on Instagram, showed two young girls holding bags made of plush bears wearing bondage gear. On the set of the shoot appeared to be court documents pertaining to child pornography laws.
“I’m sure I’ll be shadow banned… again, for posting this- but I have to,” the “Vanderpump Rules” star, who is mom to a 1-year-old daughter, wrote via her Instagram Story Wednesday alongside headlines highlighting criticism the fashion brand’s campaign drew.
“I’m proud to not own one single piece of Balenciaga,” she went on, adding that the public “need[s] to know what that document under the Balenciaga bag says.”
The photos showed two young girls holding bags made of plush bears wearing bondage gear, while surrounded by what appeared to be court documents about child pornography.Jam Press/Balenciaga
“If you zoom in, it SEEMS to state some horrifying words,” she pointed out. “Y’all- we need to do better.”
The Bravolebrity, 31, encouraged her followers to “reject the darkness” and “find the light.”
“The well-being of our world and it’s [sic] innocent beings depends on it.”
“I’m proud to not own one single piece of Balenciaga,” Kent wrote via Instagram, adding that the public “need[s] to know what that document under the Balenciaga bag says.”Instagram/Lala Kent
Balenciaga “removed the campaign from all platforms” on Tuesday and apologized for both featuring children and “displaying unsettling documents” in the holiday ad, which was in support of the label’s spring/summer 2023 collection.
The company insisted in its statement that it “strongly condemn[s] abuse of children in any form” and claimed its execs were already “taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items.”
The “Vanderpump Rules” star encouraged her followers to “do better,” “reject the darkness” and “find the light.”Instagram/Lala KentKent took issue with that part, specifically, writing, “Yo, @balenciaga- YOU ARE THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE.”
“A lot of these brands are used to us being sheep. ‘They’re stupid, they’ll never notice,'” the reality star added. “Guess what- we notice & we aren’t shutting up. We must protect these kids.”
She also blasted the brand’s apology, exclaiming, “YOU ARE THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE.”Instagram/Lala Kent
The photographer of the campaign, Gabriele Galimberti, spoke out on the matter after receiving “hundreds of hate mails and messages.”
“I am not in a position to comment [on] Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither choose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same,” he insisted via Instagram on Wednesday, adding that “the direction of the campaign and the choice of the objects displayed” were not within his control.
Galimberti further claimed that he has “no connection with the photo where a Supreme Court document appears.”
“That one was taken in another set by other people and was falsely associated with my photos,” he wrote
Source : pagesix.com
