Converse releases apology statement after people claim new ad resembles ‘racist imagery’

Converse has been forced to apologise after its latest advertising campaign gained backlash for seemingly resembling the racist hate group, the Ku Klux Klan.

The American shoe brand teamed up with K-pop singer Karina for the advert, which shows her standing in a grey T-shirt and white skirt surrounded by loads of pairs of black Converse sneakers. A bright light illuminates a star shape on the floor, to resemble the iconic Chuck Taylor logo.

It quickly went viral as people began pointing out that the way the light reflects off the skirt creates a triangle shape that could resemble a KKK hood. It looks particularly prominent in a cropped version of the campaign that was shared on Converse’s Instagram, and the way Karina is holding a pair of Converse in her left hand has also been likened to lynching imagery.

Credit: Instagram

The Ku Klux Klan is a racist, white supremacist hate group that uses violence against Black people and other minorities. It reached its peak in the 1920s, when it wore distinctive white robes and hoods, but still exists in smaller groups today. 

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Converse has also pulled the advert as it continues to spark outrage online. One person wrote on Twitter: “How any American who is remotely educated can look at this horrifying ad & not see a Ku Klux Klan hood and the feet of a hanging body… makes me speechless. I cannot fathom why Converse would greenlight something so abhorrent. Lynchings of Black people in the US are NOT ancient history.”

However, others are defending the shoe brand and claiming the whole thing has been taken out of proportion. Someone else wrote: “I see a girl standing on a star holding shoes. I don’t get the problem.”

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Featured image credit: Converse