Banned Calvin Klein Ad Sparks Backlash: ‘Double Standard’

British singer-songwriter and dancer FKA Twigs has criticized the UK regulator’s decision to ban her Calvin Klein ad, saying she felt that there were “double standards” at play.

The 36-year-old on Wednesday posted her thoughts to Instagram after her poster with the brand—which was released in April of 2023—was banned by the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on January 10. This is because the organization deemed the singer was being depicted as “a stereotypical sexual object” after two people issued complaints over the image.

In the ad, FKA Twigs—whose full name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett—donned a denim shirt drawn halfway around her body, which left the right side of her frame exposed. The text read: “Calvins or nothing.”

“The ad used nudity and centered on FKA Twigs’ physical features rather than the clothing, to the extent that it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object,” the ASA told Newsweekadding the “image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised.”

Kendall Jenner’s poster from the same campaign earned similar complaints, though the ASA deemed the Kardashian star’s version acceptable.

FKA Twigs was unimpressed by the decision and shared her thoughts to Instagram. Uploading the banned photo from her campaign, she said she does “not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labeled me,” and instead sees “a beautiful strong woman of color whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine.”

The singer continued: “In light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, i can’t help but feel there are some double standards here. so to be clear… i am proud of my physicality and hold the art i create with my vessel to the standards of women like josephine baker, eartha kitt and grace jones who broke down barriers of what it looks like to be empowered and harness a unique embodied sensuality.

“thank you to ck and mert and marcus who gave me a space to express myself exactly how i wanted to – i will not have my narrative changed.”

Newsweek emailed a representative for FKA Twigs for further comment Thursday.

Social media users jumped to FKA Twigs’ defense, with many sharing their thoughts on Twitter and posting comments on the performer’s Instagram post. Some pointed to the fact that while FKA Twig’s ad was banned, Jeremy Allen White’s Calvin Klein campaign that was released on January 4 hasn’t been. In it, White undresses to show himself wearing the brand’s spring 2024 underwear collection, which quickly went viral on social media after its release.

“I knew FKA Twigs saw her photoshoot as art. Nudity does not equal sexual objectification. They took something beautiful and painted it negatively. I wonder what projects/pieces will be censored in the future and what’s the true intent,” one X user wrote.

“Cannot stress enough how bizarre it is that just *2* complaints to the ASA got FKA Twigs’ Calvin Klein ad banned in the UK…. imagine spending this precious time we have on earth reporting women to the government for being too sexy and hot…” said another.

“fka twigs’ calvin klein campaign getting banned in the uk meanwhile jeremy allen white had his whole titty out for calvin 5 days earlier,” a third person wrote on X.

“Funny that I scroll down to see another article gushing about Jeremy Allen White as campaign but that you get taken down,” someone commented on her Instagram post.

Another added: “the double standard is beyond. my feed has been ppl foaming over the sexual objectiveness of the jeremy allen whites campaign.”

Defending both FKA Twigs and Jenner’s ads, Calvin Klein said they were similar to those it had been releasing in the U.K. for many years. It described the women as “confident and empowered” who had collaborated with the brand to produce the image and had approved it before publication.

It added that the ads were not overtly risqué and didn’t encourage the public to view the model’s body as an object. The brand also highlighted that well-known men had also featured in the campaign, which suggested that it was not focused on sexualizing women.

The ASA said: “We considered the image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised.

“The ad used nudity and centred on FKA twigs’ physical features rather than the clothing, to the extent that it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object.

“We therefore concluded the ad was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence.”