‘Disgusting’: Netizens condemn Malaika Arora after actor was seen wearing Balenciaga dress to Manish Malhotra’s birthday 

Netizens have slammed Bollywood actor Malaika Arora for sporting a Balenciaga dress to designer Manish Malhotra’s birthday party. Social media users termed Malaika’s choice of outfit as “disgusting” and also called it a “tone-deaf blunder.”

A user went so far as to write, “Supporting Balenciaga aka pedophilia brand still….” Another user wrote, “I always thought she was unnecessarily trolled, but after seeing this I understand why. She really thinks she can wear this with pride is another level of stupidity.”

A user named shreshthaxo wondered whether Malaika thinks people of India are illiterate and said, “Malaika supporting the pedophile brand as if she thinks everyone in India is illiterate or something. Does she think people don’t watch the news or she herself doesn’t? Or is it just another way to be controversial?”

A user was not having it at all and wrote, “She literally could not have picked any other designer to wear?! Absolutely shameful. Yet another reason to not look at celebs as role models…”

The fashion giant Balenciaga was mired in controversy after a problematic ad campaign featuring children. In an image that went viral, a girl child was seen holding a teddy bear wearing a padlocked choker. In another image from the campaign, a girl is shown holding a teddy bear and wearing an outfit that seems to be BDSM-inspired. 

After severe social media backlash, Balenciaga apologised for its campaign in its Instagram story. The brand said, “We sincerely apologise 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 further read, “We apologise for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign. We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items for our Spring ‘23 Campaign photoshoot. We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children safety and well-being.”

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