Converse apologises for Chuck 70 X ad compared to KKK and lynching imagery
Converse apologised for a Chuck 70 X campaign image that critics compared to KKK and lynching imagery and removed it from its channels.
Photo: Ti no / Pexels
Converse has apologised for a Chuck 70 X campaign image that critics compared to Ku Klux Klan and lynching imagery. The Nike-owned brand removed the picture from its channels and said it is working to remove it “everywhere it appeared”, Campaign reported on 18 September.
The image shows K-pop singer Karina of the group aespa in a long white skirt under a star-shaped spotlight. She holds a pair of black high-top Chucks. Critics said the lit white triangle on the skirt looked like a Klan hood and the shoes hanging from her hand suggested a lynching.
A second Converse ad with Palmes drew the same criticism
Adweek traced the image to a Threads post on 3 September. It also pointed to a second ad from a Converse collaboration with Palmes, posted on Instagram on 14 September. That one shows a man on a ladder holding sneakers above his head. Creator Kida Maree linked both ads to “Strange Fruit”, the Billie Holiday song about lynching. Actor Yvette Nicole Brown asked on Threads: “That’s a lynching, yes?”
The criticism spread across Threads, X and TikTok. Converse’s own social accounts have large audiences, with about 10.2 million followers on Instagram and 1.2 million on TikTok, according to Campaign.
Converse says the image “should not have happened”
The brand’s statement, quoted by US broadcaster KCRG, said the image “should not have happened and we will do better”. Converse did not say who created the campaign or how it was approved. TMZ wrote that nothing suggests the reference was intended. It also said the campaign was stopped, but other outlets did not confirm that.
The case echoes Gucci in 2019, when the brand pulled a balaclava sweater after blackface comparisons. It also follows other recent pull-backs by sports brands, such as Puma’s Hyrox page with Joanna Wietrzyk and Callaway ending its Good Good deal after public pressure.
Karina’s global reach made the image travel fast
A single still image, shared by a star with a global fan base, reached critics within days. The apology came about two weeks after the first post. The next thing to watch is whether Converse keeps the rest of the Chuck 70 X campaign and the Palmes collaboration running, or pulls them before the holiday season.