ALBAWABA - Saudi Arabia's football player Salem Al-Dawsari was chastised for wearing a Balenciaga jacket. The fashion house is now facing a huge scandal after a child pornography photo shoot.
A video of Al-Dawsari in the white Balenciaga jacket was shared by the verified Twitter fan account of Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal club with the caption: "Salem's look during rainy weather."
إطلالة سالم خلال الأجواء الماطرة 🌧️⛺️ pic.twitter.com/L0TiEzm5Ak
— أخبار الهلال (@hilalstuff) January 6, 2023
Opinions split regarding the Saudi football player in the Balenciaga jacket where some asked him to apologize for wearing the brand amid the international boycott campaign, while others took the benefits of the doubts by saying he clearly has no idea what is going on.
One said: "We all love and respect Salem Al-Dawsari, and I am sure if he knew about the brand and what it promotes, he would have burnt the jacket."
بالتأكيد تصرف بحسن نية من اللاعب #سالم_الدوسري ، ولكن كنت أتمنى من موقع هام كموقع أخبار #الهلال التروي ودراسة الأبعاد قبل النشر ، دار بلنسياغا تتعرض لحملة مقاطعة كبيرة بسبب ترويجها لفكر غير أخلاقي ، لذا تمنيت عدم نشر المقطع كي لا يتأثر الجيل الصغير .
— منذر آل الشيخ مبارك (@monther72) January 7, 2023
pic.twitter.com/W0Kwd7eP1g
The luxury fashion house apologized for the advertisement promoting child pornography. It said: "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. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms," it added.
A boycott campaign against Balenciaga started in November 2022 after a photo shoot, which included a child holding a teddy bear dressed in a BDSM outfit that triggered anger among many.
Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti, who took Balenciaga's photos showing children carrying teddy bears wearing S&M outfits, stated in December that he has received death threats in the aftermath of the scandal, the Guardian reported.
