Kourtney Kardashian's stepdaughter Alabama Barker's PrettyLittleThing ad banned for being 'sexual'
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND: Kourtney Kardashian's stepdaughter Alabama Barker, who is Travis Barker's daughter, has landed in hot water over an ad for PrettyLittleThing. A recent ad the 16-year-old did in collaboration with the fashion brand has been banned. The Sun reported the teenager posed for "inappropriate" images that got slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). It was noted that the brand portrayed her in a "sexual" way.
In one image for the ad, Alabama wore a pink mini dress, paired with pink high heels and orange sunglasses. She was holding a hosepipe and was spraying a nearby hedge. Another image showed her lying on a bed, licking her lips while talking on the phone. The text of the advert read, "Channel that teen dream realness with barely-there micro mini skirts."
The ASA mentioned that one of the pictures "revealed her breasts," while another image from the campaign saw Alabama wearing a "tight-fitting short dress whilst sucking a lollipop." The ASA has banned the advert in the UK, noting it is in "breach of our rules which state that ads must not portray or represent anyone who is, or seems to be, under 18 in a sexual way."
A spokesperson of ASA said that Alabama's sunglasses that featured the text "THAT'S HOT" were regarded as a "reference to sexual or passionate feeling."
READ MORE
Kate Middleton voted best-dressed of 2022, Simone Ashley and Sophie Hermann also make list
Is Travis Barker OK? Blink-182 drummer rushed to hospital accompanied by Kourtney Kardashian
They further added, "We considered that a number of her poses were also likely to be considered as sexual. In several images, Ms Barker was shown lying on a bed and in one of them she was licking her lips in a sexually suggestive manner. Several of the images in which she was wearing a mini skirt involved Ms Barker crouching down, or bending her leg, which accentuated the prominence of her upper thighs, to the extent that her buttocks were almost visible. Furthermore, we noted that in another image Ms Barker was shown spraying a water hose which was positioned between her legs, which we considered focused the eye to her crotch area."
The brand immediately clarified that they "did not intend to sexualize Ms Barker and disagreed that she was portrayed in a sexual manner." Furthermore, they said that they were trying to deliver the message of body positivity to "encourage and empower young women to embrace their bodies and inspire confidence."
When Alabama revealed the collaboration, her stepmom Kourtney commented with a bunch of hearts. However, that did not sit well with fans. One commented, "She's just a child and shouldn't be working." A comment on Reddit read, "Isn’t she 16? God this world is so f****d lol."