Kim Kardashian Responds to Backlash Over How She Handled Balenciaga Controversy

Kim Kardashian is addressing the backlash she faced over her response to Balenciaga’s recent controversial ad campaign. The campaign, for which the company has since apologized, outraged people over its use of children holding BDSM-style bondage bears in the fashion shoots. 

Kardashian, who has long worked with the fashion house, released a statement at the time calling herself “disgusted and outraged” at the imagery but did not cut ties with the brand – a move she was asked about in a new interview on the Angie Martinez IRL podcast. “With the Balenciaga thing… everyone was like, ‘Why aren’t you speaking out? Why aren’t you speaking out?’ And I’m like, ‘Wait. I’m not in this campaign. I don’t know what’s happening. Let me take a minute to research this,’” The Kardashians star said.

The Skims founder continued, “And then as soon as I saw what everyone was seeing on the internet and the reality of the situation, I completely spoke out and gave my thoughts.” Kardashian added of the statement she released to continued outrage, “But because I didn’t say, ‘F- you, Balenciaga. That’s it,’ people got mad at that.”

“So they’re mad if I don’t speak out. They’re mad if I do speak out, and if I don’t cancel,” the reality personality continued. “They’re just mad that if you don’t cancel someone in today’s society… I know people talk about cancel culture and how crazy it is, but it’s still happening. So it’s never been my place.” 

The “whole point of life” is to make mistakes, Kardashian continued, and to “grow and to evolve” from those mistakes. “Obviously there is absolutely no place or an ounce to even play with anything with children. Any sexualization of children… not an ounce of that should be in our brains and in our society,” she hedged.

But regardless of what she did, Kardashian said she knew “no matter what you can’t win,” explaining, “You don’t want to be a part of the narrative, but you’re brought in. But then I have to take responsibility and say, ‘Okay, people look at me as the face of this, so let me speak out.’ I just always want to do the right thing.”