TARGET THE BRAINS NOT THE TALENT: Balenciaga to sue creative heads of controversial Spring 2023 campaign
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Balenciaga will sue the creatives behind the Spring 2023 campaign photoshoot relating to child porn as included in a Supreme Court brief. However, they refuse to take any legal action against anyone who has worked behind the controversial BDSM-themed children's photoshoot for Holiday 2022 campaign.
Both controversial projects have been heavily criticized online. According to the Daily Mail, Balenciaga's spokesperson clarified in a statement conveying that the Holiday 2022 teddy bear shoot by photographer Gabriele Galimberti will not be the subject of a lawsuit. "Gabriele Galimberti was not involved in any way with the Spring 23 campaign involving unsettling documents in an office," the statement added. Clarifying that neither of the photographers of either shoot will be subject to a lawsuit, the fashion house further talked about Chris Maggio, the photographer for the Spring 2023 campaign. "There is no legal action being taken against him. He did not create the set nor have anything to do with the unapproved items within it, said the spokesperson. Maggio, however, has not responded to the controversy so far.
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Gabriele Galimberti: Balenciaga photographer claims to be 'lynched' over bondage-themed campaign
On the other hand, Gabriele Galimberti, one of the photographers of the controversial photoshoot for the brand's Holiday 2022 campaign, claims to be the target of a 'lynching' and that he had no creative control over the work. Galimberti, who has featured in The Sunday Times, National Geographic, Marie Claire, Stern, Le Monde, and La Repubblica, took to Instagram to clarify his stand. "Following the hundreds of hate mails and messages I received as a result of the photos I took for the Balenciaga campaign, I feel compelled to make this statement. I am not in a position to comment Balenciaga's choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither chose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same," he wrote.
The World Press Photo 2021 winner with his project 'AMERIGUNS' in the 'Portrait Stories' category and having dealt with controversial subjects before, Galimberti argues that he was in charge of the lighting and was just holding the camera. "As a photographer, I was only and solely requested to lit the given scene, and take the shots according to my signature style. As usual for a commercial shooting, the direction of the campaign and the choice of the objects displayed are not in the hands of the photographer," he continues.
Galimberti ends the post by saying "Also, I have no connection with the photo where a Supreme Court document appears. That one was taken in another set by other people and and was falsely associated with my photos."
Following furious responses on the internet, Balenciaga posted an apology on Instagram stating that they are “taking the matter very seriously” and that they are “taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set, including unapproved items” for their Spring 2023 campaign. Though the brand has apologized for the Spring 2023 campaign, the Internet seems to be unconvinced by the brand's apology.