Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga has filed a $25 million lawsuit against the company that produced their controversial ad featuring BDSM teddy bears and child pornography ruling.
Balenciaga has received massive backlash for a creepy ad that featured two young girls holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear and purposely poorly hidden court documents relating to a child p*rnography case.
Among the bondage gear worn by the children’s toys in the ads are fishnet stockings, chokers, string vests, and chains leading many on social media to refer to it as ‘child porn’ and ‘disturbing.’
On Friday, the luxury brand filed suit against North Six Inc. and set designer Nicholas Des Jardin for positioning a document from a US Supreme Court decision on “virtual child porn” laws as a prop within the ad.
“Upon information and belief, Defendants, without Balenciaga’s knowledge or authorization, included certain documents in the campaign photographs, including an excerpt from a court decision upholding a criminal prohibition against child pornography,” the filing states. “Balenciaga believes that Defendants’ inexplicable acts and omissions were malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless.”
“As a result of Defendants’ misconduct, members of the public, including the news media, have falsely and horrifically associated Balenciaga with the repulsive and deeply disturbing subject of the court decision. Defendants are liable to Balenciaga for all harm resulting from this false association,” it continued.
Epoch Times reported:
In a two-page summons (pdf) filed Friday in New York State Supreme Court for the County of New York, Balenciaga stated it was seeking redress for “extensive damages” that North Six and Des Jardins “caused in connection with an advertising campaign Balenciaga hired them to produce.”
The ad campaign supported Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2023 collection and had premiered at Paris Fashion Week.
Balenciaga took issue with campaign photographs that included court documents from a U.S. Supreme Court decision (United States v. Williams) about a law banning child pornography pandering. Specifically, a photo of a handbag, a Balenciaga and Adidas collaboration, included the court file that was partially covered by the bag. Only those who scrutinized the photo would have noticed the detail.
Daily Mail reported that a Balenciaga spokesperson told the outlet the company was suing third-party creatives, not full-time employees or the photographers, who were reportedly hired specifically for that set.
Balenciaga quickly issued an apology and pulled the creepy child BDSM-themed ads from all platforms.
Ye also called out celebrities for not condemning Balenciaga for the disturbing ads.
He said, “This just shows you all celebrities are controlled. You don’t see no celebrities talking about the Balenciaga situation.”
“Don’t let them influence you in anyway because they’re controlled by the people who really influence the world. There is no such thing as a celebrity influencer. All these people…they’re not serving God. If they serve God then believe what they’re talking about. We’re holding the Christian Christ principals first.”, he continued.
Update: Kim Kardashian said that she is “disgusted and outraged” by the ad campaign and is currently re-evaluating her relationship with the brand in a Twitter thread.
