Kim Kardashian couldn’t bring herself to drop Balenciaga after a $25M suit was filed over ‘BDSM teddy bear’ ad

Fashion House Balenciaga has filed a whopping $25 million lawsuit against the producers of a perverted ad campaign that featured little girls holding teddy bears in bondage gear as well as a child pornography court ruling sparking massive outrage and a boycott.

According to court papers, the company brought suit against production company North Six, Inc. and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins’ company on Friday for the inclusion of the US Supreme Court decision on child pornography laws in the campaign which was seen as a backhanded condoning of pedophilia. The two-page court summons does not mention the children holding teddy bears in BDSM outfits.

Balenciaga is filing the suit “to seek redress for extensive damages defendants caused in connection with an advertising campaign Balenciaga hired them to produce,” the Manhattan Supreme Court summons charges.

The company is asserting that North Six and Des Jardins included the images of the court docs without its knowledge which was “malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless,” the filing contends.

“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,” the court papers stated. “Defendants are liable to Balenciaga for all harm resulting from this false association.”

The two ad campaigns that have caused the uproar emerged from Paris Fashion Week and promoted the company’s spring/summer 2023 collection.

Balenciaga issued an apology on Tuesday and pulled the teddy bear ads.

“We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms,” the statement posted on Instagram claimed.

They also apologized “for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign,” and announced they were “taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items for our Spring 23 campaign photoshoot.”

“We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children’s safety and well-being,” the company declared.

The photographer of the teddy bear ad, Gabriele Galimberti, is distancing himself from all of this and claimed on Twitter he wasn’t in control of the “direction of the campaign and the choice of the objects displayed.”

The company recently cut ties with rapper Kanye West for statements they deemed antisemitic, which is pertinent since his ex-wife, reality star Kim Kardashian has reportedly refused to cut ties with the fashion house even though many of her fans have demanded that she do so, according to the Daily Mail.

The 42-year-old did denounce the brand on Sunday night. She has frequently collaborated with and has essentially become the face of Balenciaga. Kardashian claims she was “shaken” and “disgusted” by the images. She has been in business with the company for a number of years and spoke out days after the company had already apologized for the scandal.

“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 online. “As a mother of four, I have been shaken by those disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and anything against it should have no place in our society – period.”

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1597034284384411650

She then addressed her future with the company.

“I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again,” she continued. “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.”

Balenciaga is not getting a pass on all of this despite filing a lawsuit:

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