Editor’s note: The full upskirt ad is featured below. Some readers may find the content disturbing or offensive.
Calvin Klein’s latest ad campaign is receiving backlash online because it features a rather daring photo of Dutch actress, Klara Kristen.
The image looks up the skirt of the model who is 23 years old, but may look younger to some. The caption reads, “I flash in #mycalvins” along with the hashtag #takeapeek.
London-based photographer Harley Weir, who is well-known for risqué photos, shot the campaign.
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Social media critics say the picture is comparable to pornography; many add it could appeal to pedophiles since the model looks underage.
Comments include, “Your up the skirt picture is a shame. That is what pedophiles do… It is illegal to take a picture of someone under their skirt” and “CK making the world a (less) safe place for our daughters, sisters and wives.”
Another person wrote, “Is this what our world has come to? Taking my undergarment and fashion $$$ elsewhere. This, Calvin Klein, doesn’t look like child pornography–IT IS child pornography.”
Another Calvin Klein ad starring Kristen received similar backlash in March 2016. Heidi Zak, CEO of the lingerie company ThirdLove, even started a Change.org petition to have it taken down.
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The ad was posted on a large billboard in New York City beside another of rapper Fetty Wap. While her image said, “I seduce in #mycalvins” his said “I make money in #mycalvins.”
“The billboard propagates an archaic and offensive gender stereotype that women are nothing more than sexual objects, while men are the breadwinners. Calvin Klein has a vast assortment of content for this campaign, so we find it appalling that the company chose to put these two images side by side in one of the most highly visible intersections in the country,” Zak wrote in the petition.
The billboard was taken down after the launch of the petition.
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In response to the controversy, Calvin Klein released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter which read,
“This billboard was taken down overnight as part of the planned rotation of our spring 2016 advertising campaign.We take all of our consumers’ concerns seriously, and as a global brand, we promote gender equality and the breakdown of gender stereotypes across the world. Our global advertising campaign images feature many different musicians, artists and models wearing all of our product categories, including our underwear products, sharing how they feel about and live in their Calvins.””
Calvin Klein’s previous underwear campaigns have featured A-list celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes.
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