Kim Kardashian Addresses Balenciaga Backlash: 'You Can't Win'

Kim Kardashian is addressing the backlash she received in connection with the recent Balenciaga controversy.

In an interview on the "Angie Martinez IRL" podcast, the "Kardashians" star opened up about the public scrutiny she faced following the release of the brand's controversial holiday campaign in late November.

Balenciaga was accused of sexualizing children in its holiday ad, which appeared to show kids holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear. Kardashian, who has appeared in Balenciaga ads and consistently broadcast the brand to her $337 million followers on Instagram before the controversy, was then called out for not speaking out and condemning the holiday campaign fast enough.

"With the Balenciaga thing... everyone was like, 'Why aren't you speaking out? Why aren't you speaking out?' And I'm like, 'Wait. I'm not in this campaign. I don't know what's happening. Let me take a minute to like research this,'" Kardashian told Martinez, People reported.

She continued, "And then as soon as I saw what everyone was seeing on the internet and the reality of the situation, I completely spoke out and gave my thoughts."

Kardashian released a lengthy statement denouncing the controversial Balenciaga campaign. However, it took her over a week to break her silence on the controversy, and by that time, many on social media had already called her out due to her ties to the luxury fashion house.

"But because I didn't say, 'F--- you, Balenciaga. That's it,' people got mad at that," she explained on the podcast. "So they're mad if I don't speak out. They're mad if I do speak out, and if I don't cancel."

Kardashian admitted that she was in a difficult spot and that no matter what she did, people would still condemn her. According to the reality star, "no matter what, you can't win."

"You don't want to be a part of the narrative, but you're brought in," Kardashian added. "But then I have to take responsibility and say, 'Okay, people look at me as the face of this, so let me speak out.' I just always want to do the right thing."

Days after Balenciaga released the campaign on Nov. 16, Kardashian took to Instagram to say that she was "disgusted and outraged" by the ads and that she had been silent because she spoke to the brand's team first to "understand for myself how this could have happened."

"As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images," Kardashian wrote on Instagram. "The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society."

She added, "I am currently reevaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should never have happened to begin with — and the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children."

Balenciaga removed the campaign from all platforms and issued a statement on Nov. 24, saying, "We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign."

The luxury fashion house later said in a follow-up statement that it would implement "new controls" to prevent the "series of grievous errors" from happening again.