Kim Kardashian is ‘re-evaluating’ her relationship with Balenciaga after the fashion brand suffered a recent ad backlash – but how many Instagram followers did Kim K lose during the controversy?
Kim Kardashian has addressed the recent Balenciaga controversy that led to the brand releasing an ad for its spring 2023 campaign that features young girls holding teddy bears in captivity.
One image further fueled the backlash after fans saw a printout of the 2008 United States vs Williams case, which banned explicit images of children.
Kim has been a longtime collaborator with the brand, from modeling in the Fall 2022 ad campaign to representing the Spanish house every day.
Her future with Balenciaga is currently unknown as she ‘reevaluates’ their relationship, but after some fans blasted the reality star for not cutting ties, how many followers has she lost since the controversy?
How many Instagram followers has Kim Kardashian lost?
Kim is still the seventh most followed celebrity on Instagram, after half-sister Kylie Jenner, who takes the top spot as the most popular woman.
At the time of writing, the mother of four has 334 million followers, and according to InsTrack, that number has barely dipped since her announcement.
On November 27, the day before her comment, Kim had exactly 334,428,521 followers. On November 28, her follower count dropped to 334,414,166 – a drop of 14,355.
This is hardly a change given the level of scrutiny of campaigns that some have deemed “disgusting” and “sick”.
And although the images were published last week, Kim said she remained silent as she preferred to communicate with the brand in person.
“I’ve been quiet the last few days,” she wrote. “Not because I wasn’t shocked and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted to have the opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened.
“As a mother of four, I was shaken by those disturbing images. The safety of children must be held in the highest regard and anything against it should not take place in our society – period.”
On the other hand, Kim’s fandom on Twitter has grown by more than 8,000, according to Social Tracker. She also posted the statement on Instagram on Twitter.
Balenciaga releases third statement on campaign controversies
The fashion brand uploaded a third statement to apologize for the campaign images.
Balenciaga took full responsibility for the misuse of child models in “BDSM-inspired outfits”, labeling it a “wrong choice” and a “failure to evaluate and validate images”.
Regarding the United States vs Williams document, Balenciaga claimed that it was not approved by the brand and was provided by third parties, who allegedly confirmed that it was a fake document.
“They turned out to be real legal documents that most likely came from the filming of a television drama,” the brand wrote. “The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint.
“We take full responsibility for our lack of oversight and control over background documents.”
WATCH THE KARDASHIANS ON HULU AND DISNEY+ NOW
AND FINE FREAKY WITH US ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND TIKTOK
Do you have something to tell us about this article?
