Kim Kardashian Talks Delay With Balenciaga Controversy: 'It's Not My Place To Jump In'

Kim Kardashian has addressed the backlash she received for her delayed response to the Balenciaga scandal.

The reality star had come under fire after she took her time addressing the "disturbing" ad campaign by the fashion brand that showcases little kids holding a teddy bear donned in a bondage costume.

When she eventually tweeted a statement admonishing the controversial images, critics branded it as "non-committal" and insincere. Despite that, Kardashian is speaking up again about the controversy and why she was hesitant to address it in the first place. 

Kardashian, whose initial response had come more than one week after the Balenciaga campaign went live, had stated in part, "I am currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with — & the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children."

That response did not go down well with critics who thought she should have ended her partnership with the brand immediately. Addressing the unending drama when she appeared on Monday, December 26 episode of the "Angie Martinez IRL Podcast," the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star said:

"I’m like, wait; I’m not in this campaign. I don’t know what’s happening. Let me take a minute to research this, and then as soon as I saw what everyone was seeing on the internet and the reality of the situation, I completely spoke out and gave my thoughts on child porn and completely denounced it."

Despite telling her millions of Instagram followers that she was "disgusted" by the ad, Kardashian noted that "no matter what" she said, there will always be "people who have a problem" with her and how she handles situations. In the words of the mother of four: 

“Because I didn’t say, F**k you, Balenciaga,’ that’s it, people got mad at that. So, it’s like they’re mad if I don’t speak out, they’re mad if I do speak out and if I don’t cancel [Balenciaga].”

She added that even though she knew and understood how "crazy cancel culture is," it was "never in my place" to cancel any brand or individual. The SKIMS founder concluded that she "definitely can't win" in this type of situation "unless they heard what they wanted to hear."

As for her initial response to the drama, The Blast reported that Twitter users who were less than pleased with the statement quickly reacted.

"Why do you still need to talk to them? You need to dissociate with them immediately & use your money to research into depth wtf is going on. There is so much more than just a campaign," one critic wrote about Kardashian's claim that she "wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened."

Another person angrily tweeted, "You say all this but refuse to cut ties with them [clown emojis]. f**k you and pedo a** balenciagia.” A third Twitter user interjected that the reality star's plan to "re-evaluate" her relationship with the company instead of cutting them off meant that "she's waiting till people calm down so she can go back to advertise for them."

During the same podcast conversation, Kardashian had given Martinez an update on her turbulent relationship with her ex-husband, Kanye West, with whom she shares her kids — North, Saint, Psalm, and Chicago. 

After sharing how difficult it was to co-parent with Ye due to his social media antics, the business mogul claimed, per The Blast, "I had the best dad [Rob Kardashian Sr.], and I had the best memories and the greatest experience, and that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that." @

With that being her goal, the doting mom was prepared to protect them from their dad's often aggressive and racist online persona. "That's what I would want for them. If they don't know the things that are being said or what's happening in the world, why would I ever bring that energy to them? That's really heavy grown-up s–t that they're not ready to deal with," the 42-year-old finished.