'Totally Out Of Context': Balenciaga Gets Support From Father Of Child Model Who Posed In Controversial Campaign With BDSM Doll
Nov. 25 2022, Published 4:15 p.m. ET
The father of a British child model who posed for Balenciaga's controversial campaign is speaking out in defense of the fashion brand amid calls for a boycott, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The campaign showed children holding teddy bears that were clad in bondage vests, leading many to speak out on social media about it being inappropriate.
RadarOnline.com has learned the father, who opted to remain anonymous, believes the photos were "taken out of context" and he said the backlash is far too aggressive.
He insisted that it was an "enjoyable" experience for both himself and his daughter, adding that if at any point he felt uncomfortable, then he would have stepped in to stop the photo shoot.
"No parent would actively encourage the child to take part in something which was pornographic, and I think the publicity surrounding what happened has been blown out of all proportion," he told Daily Mail in a new statement released on Friday.
The father went on to passionately defend photographer Gabriele Galimberti, who shot the photos but did not give any creative direction, as noted by Balenciaga in their statement as well as Galimberti himself.
"I feel desperately sorry for Gabriele, this had nothing directly to do with him and he was merely taking the photographs as requested by Balenciaga. The parents of the children were at the shoot and they approved of what took place," he said, claiming the children had a "fantastic time on the shoot."
Galimberti was drawn into all this unfairly, he concluded.
Balenciaga has apologized "for any offense" caused by their holiday campaign, deleting the images from its social media platforms and stating that "plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign."
The company also said that they are 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," the statement continued.
Amid the ongoing backlash, other naysayers have called out celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid for not severing ties with the fashion brand.
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