The Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel took to social media to criticize the lack of public outcry from celebrities after designer brand Balenciaga apologized for campaign images that some people described as “child pornography.”
Frankel described the controversy as a “massive scandal” in a video posted to Instagram and said celebrities had not “disconnected” from the brand because of their commercial relationship with Balenciaga, hours before Kim Kardashian launched a statement in which to say it.
“From a business point of view, I suppose it’s because they’re either being paid by this brand [and] legally, they are not allowed to talk negatively about the brand if they want to get paid. Or they have to associate with these brands because they like to be on the cover of magazines and go to the Met Gala,” she said.
“Fashion is front row, fashion is currency, fashion has power, it seems these days. People like it [Vogue editor-in-chief] Anna Wintour has more power than people in the entertainment industry.”
Getty Images North America/Rich Polk/Araya Doheny
She then commented on people connected to the shoot who tried to distance themselves from responsibility, including photographer Gabriele Galimberti who shot the Balenciaga items.
said Galimberti Newsweek “the direction of the campaign and the shoot are not in the photographer’s hands.”
“Lynchings like this are aimed at the wrong targets and distract from the real problem and the criminals,” Galimberti added.
Frankel said this during a recent “big photo shoot” for Interview magazine every member of the crew from the creative director down “were so intensely and intensely involved.”
“I find it very hard to believe that the story of this shooting has not been fully clarified,” she said. “In this particular case, the victims are these children who are being objectified and sexualized. Models don’t have the power and those parents were probably happy that their kids were hired to be models. So they probably aren’t given any creative background. .”
Frankel described the controversy as “definitely like a *** show” and would have struck a chord around Thanksgiving because the holidays are “a time of joy and purity for children.”
“So this is wrong. The fashion industry is in “cover your ass” mode and they probably don’t know what the hell to do now. It is very unfortunate and hopefully it will raise awareness of the bigger issue which is children. I just can’t understand how that article could land on such a set and not make that connection. Basically, I can’t understand,” she concluded.
Balenciaga has been criticized for two separate photo shoots, the “Balenciaga Gift Shop” shoot for its Balenciaga Objects collection and a new joint campaign with Adidas.
Images from the “Balenciaga Gift Shop” campaign included a photo of a child holding one of the brand’s teddy bear bags, which was dressed in a studded BDSM harness and collar and fishnet stockings. Another photo included a teddy bear in a fishnet vest and studded choker.
The Adidas collaboration showed an hourglass-shaped handbag on top of a stack of papers, one of which included a page from a 2008 Supreme Court ruling. United States v. Williams.
That Supreme Court decision upheld a 2003 federal law that criminalizes the advertising, promotion, display or distribution of child pornography.
The court had to investigate whether the law restricted the right to free speech under the First Amendment.
Balenciaga apologized for the photo shoot and said Newsweek would stop selling the controversial teddy bear bags.
“We recognize the seriousness of this matter and condemn all forms of child abuse. We have immediately removed the Holiday campaign from our platforms and will stop selling the teddy 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 recognizable ambassador, Kim Kardashian broke her silence on the matter.
The reality TV star has worn Balenciaga almost exclusively to major events since last year and has starred in a number of their campaigns.
Kardashian wrote a statement on Twitter saying she was “disgusted” and “shocked” by the images.
“I’ve been quiet the last few days, not because I wasn’t disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak with their team to understand for myself how this could have happened,” she. wrote.
“As a mother of four, I was shaken by the disturbing images,” she said. “The safety of children must be held in the highest regard and any attempt to normalize child abuse of any kind should not occur in our society – period.”
Kardashian added: “As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand based on their willingness to accept responsibility for something that should never have happened in the first place – and the actions on which I expect to see. they take to protect the children”.
Kardashian’s ex-husband, Kanye West, or Ye, took a subtle dig at her silence before releasing her statement while speaking with a reporter over the weekend.
West was recently dropped from a series of multi-million dollar deals following a series of anti-Semitic tweets.
The rapper, who has been dumped by Adidas and Balenciaga, warned against “trusting influencers” because “they are controlled”.
Kardashian is well known as an influencer for endorsing her brand on Instagram and elsewhere.
“This just shows that all the celebrities are controlled. You don’t see any celebrities talking about the Balenciaga situation,” Ye said. “All these celebrities here, don’t let them influence you in any way, because they are really controlled by people who really influence the world. There is no such thing as a celebrity influencer.”