FKA Twigs is clapping back after her Calvin Klein ad was banned in the UK for being deemed “irresponsible and likely to cause serious offense.”
On Wednesday, the 36-year-old responded to the Advertising Standards Authority’s claim that the image, which showed the singer using nothing but a denim shirt to cover her body, “presented her as a stereotypical sexual object.”
“I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I see a beautiful strong woman of colour whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine.”
The singer then seemingly called out the apparent sexism and racism laced in the board’s decision given the fact that “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White’s scantily clad ad, in which he wears nothing but boxers, was not met with the same backlash when it dropped last week.
“in light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, i can’t help but feel there are some double standards here,” she continued.
“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.”
She concluded the post by thanking Calvin Klein and her team for letting her express herself “exactly how [she] wanted to.”
“i will not have my narrative changed.”
The “Cellophane” singer was instantly met with support online, with many other fans calling out the hypocrisy of the ASA’s decision in wake of the “Shameless” star’s viral ad.
“Maybe the problem is not about how much skin a woman shows, the problem is the depraved thoughts/actions (some) men have towards women,” one person tweeted.
“Funny that I scroll down to see another article gushing about Jeremy Allan White as campaign but that you get taken down,” another commented.
“the double standard is beyond,” a third agreed. “my feed has been ppl foaming over the sexual objectiveness of the jeremy allen whites campaign.”
Twig’s response came just hours after the ASA revealed they were pulling the ad, which was released in April 2023, after allegedly receiving complaints that the ad was too inappropriate.
The UK’s governing advertising regulator claimed 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,” according to the Guardian.
They reportedly added that the “image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised.”
In the ad, Twigs used a jacket to partially cover herself, leaving one half of her bare body exposed.
Although people allegedly also complained about Kendall Jenner’s topless ad from August 2023, the board deemed the image was okay because it was not taken “in a manner that portrayed her as a sexual object” — despite the “Kardashians” star baring it all in just underwear.
Meanwhile, Calvin Klein defended both women, saying, “The images were not vulgar and were of two confident and empowered women who had chosen to identify with the Calvin Klein brand, and the ads contained a progressive and enlightened message,” per the Guardian.
