Brittany Aldean on Monday blasted Balenciaga’s controversial children’s holiday ads as “disgusting” and “pure evil” and urged others to share her outrage after she purged her closet of the luxury brand in protest.
The 34-year-old mother of two and wife of country star Jason Aldean made headlines on social media last week when she shared a photo of herself carrying clean garbage bags filled with Balenciaga clothing, bags and shoes amid the brand’s ad campaign scandal.
“I, first and foremost, love fashion … but I refuse to represent or wear a brand that is associated with the sexual exploitation of children or the sexualization of children,” Aldean said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “It’s disgusting and what they’ve shown us in their recent campaign is pure evil.”
BALENCIA VISITORS OUTRAGED ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN FOLLOWING ‘SPOKEN’ WITH TOY BEARS.
Brittany Aldean, wife of country music star Jason Aldean.
(Photo by BRIDGET BENNETT/AFP via Getty Images)
At the center of the controversy is Balenciaga’s holiday campaign, in which children were photographed with bags in the shape of teddy bears. The brand also drew controversy over a separate ad for its spring-summer ’23 campaign that used documents from the US Supreme Court’s federal child pornography ruling as a claim.
Balenciaga pulled the holiday ad campaign and apologized for “any offence”.
The brand later apologized for “showing disturbing documents” in its Spring/Summer 2023 campaign ad and said it would take legal action against those who posted the text on the image. However, Aldean said the claim that the brand neglected props during the shoot was “ridiculous.”
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Jason Aldean, Brittany Aldean
(Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images)
“It has to be taken seriously because every detail of the shoot is carefully thought out,” he told Tucker Carlson. “I’ve been on photo shoots before. I know there’s weeks, if not months, of preparation. It’s well thought out. For them to think it’s appropriate to put kids in the situation we see. The campaign for their brand is disgusting. “
“Every prop, book and teddy bear, whether they say it’s a mistake or not, everything is carefully thought out,” he continued. “They showed us who they are. It’s disgusting. It’s evil, and the common denominator here is that we have to stand up, we have to fight for our children. It’s not political. It’s not about religion. The common denominator here is children at all costs. protection.”
“Everyone should be outraged,” he said.
Aldean has been open about his views on children in the past. In September, the former “American Idol” contestant posted a video on Instagram with the caption, “Thank you to my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy days. I love this girl life.”
He later doubled down on his stance after facing backlash from critics. In her Instagram story, she wrote: “Promoting child genital mutilation under the guise of love and calling it ‘gender affirming care’ is one of the worst evils. I will always support my children and do what I do. I can defend their innocence.”
Fox News’ Ashley Hume contributed to this report.