Kim Kardashian Slammed for a 'Performative' Statement as She Wore Balenciaga Months After ‘Disgusting’ Ad

One year after criticizing Balenciaga for its marketing fiasco, Kim Kardashian posed in an outfit from the brand. The 42-year-old reality star shared her outfit on Instagram on September 13 in connection with the annual Caring for Women Dinner hosted by the Kering Foundation. She wore a pink, sparkling dress with a halter neckline and train for the dinner on Wednesday night, along with a pair of pointy nude heels, as per Buzzfeed.

Following the fiasco that took place with the luxury fashion house's campaign last year, i.e., the backlash surrounding Balenciaga's Spring/Summer 2023 collection that featured children in BDSM attire, the Skims founder declared that she was 're-evaluating' her association with the company. Kardashian asserted that she was 'shaken by the disturbing images,' but she made no mention of whether or not she would be breaking off her relationship with Balenciaga, as many admirers had hoped. 

Now, a year later, Kardashian's post in which she is seen wearing the brand again has infuriated her fans, who have accused her of hypocrisy and being 'performative.' In the comments section of her Instagram post, fans have sprung to questioning her decision to publicly cooperate with Balenciaga once more, as per Independent.

Many users addressed their disappointment on Reddit after they saw Kim's dress for the gala. “I mean even when people asked her to speak out Kim really made a super neutral and vague statement of something along the lines of ‘I’m going to re-evaluate my future relationship with this company and see what they have to say about it,’” one Reddit user wrote. “She didn’t really make any set-in-stone plans to cut them off completely or never work with them again and was wearing Balenciaga shortly after her posting about the controversy.”

Balenciaga apologized for this problematic campaign at the time. “Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms,” the company wrote before also adding, “We apologize for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign. We take this matter very seriously and 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 business entrepreneur eventually decided to release a statement of her own addressing the troubling campaign a week after the photo session sparked public outrage online last year. “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. But with these new photos from the charity dinner surfacing, suffice it to say her fans are not very pleased.