Converse has apologised and removed an advertisement featuring K-pop star Karina after the campaign sparked backlash from social media users who said its imagery evoked the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.
The controversial image, part of the brand's global Chuck 70 X campaign, showed the aespa member wearing a white skirt while holding black high-top trainers. Critics said the lighting and composition created disturbing historical associations.
Karina Ad Triggers Backlash
In the image, Karina stands inside a large star-shaped spotlight, a reference to Converse's famous logo, while holding a pair of black shoes at her side.
Karina of K-Pop group Aespa was featured in a new Converse All-Stars ad for Asian markets. The American internet decided it was racist. The rest of the world said "stop looking at everything through racism colored glasses," "the whole world doesn't revolve around you, sheesh." pic.twitter.com/pr3Y5G9j0M
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) September 19, 2026
Some viewers said the bright triangular shape created across her white clothing resembled the pointed hood associated with the Ku Klux Klan, the white supremacist organisation with a long history of racist violence in the United States.
Others argued that the positioning of the dangling black shoes appeared to resemble the feet of a lynching victim.
The comparisons quickly spread across social media, where users questioned how the photograph had passed through the company's creative and approval processes.
Some critics called for accountability from those involved in producing and approving the campaign. Others defended Converse, arguing that they did not believe the imagery had been intentional.
There is no evidence that Converse deliberately intended the advertisement to reference either the KKK or lynching.
Converse Admits 'We Got This Wrong'
Converse responded by pulling the image and issuing an apology acknowledging why viewers found it upsetting.
'We're sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong,' the company said.
Converse said it had removed the advertisement from its own channels and was working to have it removed everywhere else it had appeared.
'This should not have happened, and we will do better,' the company added.
The Nike-owned footwear brand has not publicly explained how the final image passed its internal review process or identified who approved the advertisement.
Karina and her management company, SM Entertainment, had not publicly responded to the controversy when the apology was issued.
Second Converse Image Draws Attention
The backlash also brought renewed attention to a separate Converse campaign image released in September.
That photograph, promoting a collaboration with Danish lifestyle brand Palmes, showed a person standing on a ladder while holding shoes near a tree branch.
Social media users circulated the two advertisements together, arguing that the second image intensified their concerns about the visual associations surrounding the Karina campaign.
This other ad from @Converse teaming up with Copenhagen-based tennis lifestyle brand Palmes, doubles down on lynching. WTF!!!! pic.twitter.com/Of3HKBpGXX
— Faith M. Jackson-🐦⬛🟦🟧 🪷 (@kissedbythesun) September 18, 2026
However, the images came from separate campaigns, and no evidence has established that either was deliberately designed to evoke racist imagery.
For Converse, the controversy has shifted attention from the launch of its new trainers to questions about how global advertising campaigns are reviewed before publication.
Its apology acknowledges the impact viewers saw in the Karina photograph without claiming that the disturbing interpretation was intentional.
The company is now trying to remove the image from circulation, but screenshots continue to spread online, ensuring the campaign and the questions surrounding its approval remain visible across social media platforms worldwide.
