Balenciaga DROPS $25M Lawsuit Against Producers Of Controversial Ad Campaign, CEO Apologizes For 'Offenses Caused'
Dec. 3 2022, Published 3:40 p.m. ET
Balenciaga has dropped their $25 million lawsuit against the production company behind the fashion house’s recent controversial and widely condemned ad campaign, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
The embattled fashion house dropped the multi-million-dollar lawsuit on Friday after originally filing the suit one week earlier against the production outfit North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins.
Balenciaga came under fire after it was revealed real Supreme Court documents from a child pornography ruling were featured in the background of an ad for the luxury fashion company’s spring 2023 campaign.
Although Balenciaga initially blamed North Six and Des Jardins for the controversial blunder, both the production outfit and the set designer denied being responsible for the mishap.
According to a lengthy social media statement posted to Instagram on Friday, Balenciaga’s president and CEO, Cédric Charbit, revealed the fashion company is “taking the following actions with the objective to learn from [their] mistakes as an organization.”
Those actions include: deciding “not to pursue litigation” against North Six and Des Jardin, reorganize their “image department to ensure full alignment with out corporate guidance” and start “training on responsible communications across [their] teams.”
“I want to personally reiterate my sincere apologies for the offense caused and take my responsibility,” Charbit added. “At Balenciaga, we stand together for children safety and do not tolerate any kind of violence and hatred message.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Balenciaga initially came under intense scrutiny after their spring 2023 ad campaign featured children and teddy bears dressed in what appeared to be BDSM-themed outfits.
The controversy only grew worse after eagle-eyed discovered hidden documents connected to the SCOTUS child pornography ruling in the background of yet another ad.
Even more shocking was yet another photo found that featured a book by Michaël Borremans – the Belgian painter and filmmaker who came under fire in 2017 after featuring images of naked and castrated toddlers in his series Fire from the Sun.
Kim Kardashian, who serves as the face of Balenciaga, was ultimately dragged into the scandal when she revealed she was sticking by the embattled fashion brand's side despite the controversy.
Kim later changed her tune when she began facing backlash, and allegedly decided to decline an offer from the embattled brand while also changing her pre-planned Balenciaga outfits to other prominent designers for upcoming events.