Calvin Klein Apologizes to the LGBTQ Community for "Queer-Bait" Ad Campaign Featuring Bella Hadid

In the 30-second clip, a narrator says: "Life is opening doors. Creating new dreams that you never knew could exist." Meanwhile, Hadid grabs Miquela's face and begins kissing her, before the screen dims to black and highlights the Calvin logo. 

As Bella is in a heterosexual relationship with The Weeknd, many believed the ad queer-baited consumers simply for the sake of profits. "Stop using lesbianism to sell your clothing," wrote one Twitter user, while another mocked the campaign's tag line: "'Life is about' what? This is a total queer bait."

Following the backlash, Calvin Klein issued an apology via social media on Friday afternoon. “The concept for our latest #MYCALVINS campaign is to promote freedom of expression for a wide range of identities, including a spectrum of gender and sexual identities,” the brand explained. “This specific campaign was created to challenge conventional norms and stereotypes in advertising. 

"In this particular video, we explored the blurred lines between reality and imagination,” they continued their message, adding: “We understand and acknowledge how featuring someone who identifies as heterosexual in a same-sex kiss could be perceived as queer-baiting. As a company with a longstanding tradition of advocating for LGTBQ+ rights, it was certainly not our intention to misrepresent the LGTBQ+ community. We sincerely regret any offense we caused.”

While their apology seems sincere, the advertisement still remains online. 

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