Brittany Aldean Is Throwing Away Bags of Balenciaga After Controversial Ad Campaign: ‘It’s Trash Day’
Brittany Aldean’s Balenciaga merchandise is getting kicked to the curb.
The wife of country singer Jason Aldean took to Instagram on Wednesday to share her disdain for Balenciaga amid the fashion house’s controversial ad campaign that depicted children holding teddy bears wearing bondage gear and paperwork from a Supreme Court decision on child pornography.
Aldean uploaded a photo of herself taking out the garbage, which included two clear bags filled with Balenciaga items. “It’s trash day,” Aldean wrote, tagging the brand.
The post from Aldean garnered applause from her followers, including husband Jason. “Show em how to ‘walk the walk’ babe!” he wrote to his wife, alongside clapping emojis. Brittany also got support from some fellow country music wives, including Brittney Kelley, wife of Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley, who commented “Same”; HARDY’s wife Caleigh Ryan who wrote “YES HAHA”; and Russell Dickerson’s wife Kailey Dickerson, who said “Yes mama.”
The holiday campaign that launched on Nov. 16 received so much backlash that it prompted the fashion house to release a statement condemning child abuse. “It was never our intent to include it in our narrative,” the brand wrote on Instagram, with comments turned off. “The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”
The photographer of the ad, Gabriele Galimberti, also issued a statement on Instagram, writing that he “was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither [choose] the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same.”
Balenciaga filed a $25 million lawsuit against North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, accusing both parties of taking part in “inexplicable acts and omissions… malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless” in the campaign.
While Aldean is receiving praise this time around, over the past few months, she’s stirred up some controversy of her own. The 34-year-old found herself in hot water when she took to Instagram in August, writing alongside a glam video, “I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life.”
She was called out by several musicians, including country superstar Maren Morris, for the transphobic comments. “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie,” Morris tweeted.
Morris was labeled a “lunatic” by Fox News host Tucker Carlson following the feud, and the country star ended up making and selling T-shirts with the phrase “Lunatic Country Music Person.” She donated the funds to the Trans Lifeline and the GLAAD Transgender Media Program, raising more than $150,000.
Sierra Porter
Billboard