Bachelor’s Lauren Burnham and Arie Luyendyk Jr. Burn Balenciaga Shoes Amid Controversy

Reality stars Lauren Burnham and Arie Luyendyk Jr. have denounced Balenciaga after controversial images involving kids were put out by the brand last week. Here’s what they did.

By Alexandra Bellusci Dec 01, 2022 11:33 PMTags
Watch: Kylie Jenner DENIES Using Her Kids for Balenciaga Cover-Up

Balenciaga is no longer on trend for Lauren Burnham and Arie Luyendyk Jr

Following the luxury brand's scandal over its latest campaign, which involved controversial photos involving children, The Bachelor alums took to Instagram Dec. 1 to make it clear where they stand on the matter. 

The couple's joint post showed a video of them burning Balenciaga shoes with Lauren giving the peace out sign and saying "Bye Balenciaga." They captioned the post, "won't miss ya."

Fellow Bachelor Nation member Hannah Ann Sluss showed her support in the comments, writing, "And good."

Arie and Lauren aren't the only celebrities indicating they'll no longer be shopping at Balenciaga. Brittany Aldean posted a pic of herself to Instagram Nov. 30 holding bags of Balenciaga items such as shoes, purses and clothing with the caption, "It's trash day @balenciaga."

Her husband, country singer Jason Aldean, commented, "@brittanyaldean show em how to "walk the walk" babe!"

Watch
Kylie Jenner DENIES Using Her Kids for Balenciaga Cover-Up

Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent also spoke out about the fashion house when the pictures first surfaced online, writing on her Instagram Stories Nov. 21, "If you zoom in, it SEEMS to state some horrifying words. Y'all—we need to do better. The well-being of our world and it's innocent beings depends on it."

Balenciaga's ad campaign, which debuted Nov. 22, came under fire for featuring what appeared to be BDSM-inspired teddy bears in photos with children. The brand later deleted the images from its Instagram account and released a statement apologizing for the images the same day. On Nov. 28, they issued a second apology

"We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative," the company said in the statement. "The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility."

Instagram

Amid the backlash, the brand has since filed a lawsuit against the campaign's production company North Six Inc. as well as its agent and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, according to documents filed on Nov. 25 and obtained by E! News.

A representative for North Six declined comment on the summons.

Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian who has frequently partnered with the brand has also spoken out about the controversy.

"I have been quiet the past few days, not because I haven't been shocked 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 on her Instagram Stories Nov. 27. "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." 

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