Converse users are taking scissors, lighters and social media posts to their 'All Star' trainers after a controversial advert featuring aespa star Karina sparked a furious online boycott.
Some critics have filmed themselves cutting up or burning their Converse shoes, accusing the brand of using imagery that resembled a Ku Klux Klan hood and a hanging body. Converse has since removed the image and apologised, admitting it 'got this wrong', but the backlash has continued online.
Karina Advert Sparks KKK and Lynching Comparisons
The controversy centres on a campaign for Converse's Chuck 70 X sneaker featuring Karina, one of the members of K-pop group aespa.
In the image, Karina appears in a flowing white skirt while holding a pair of black Converse high-top trainers. A sharply pointed section of light falls across the white fabric, while the positioning of the trainers creates an unusual visual that some viewers interpreted as a person hanging from a noose.
The pointed white shape also drew comparisons to the distinctive hood associated with the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist organisation with a long history of racial terror against Black Americans.
Actress Yvette Nicole Brown was among those who publicly questioned the image, helping push the criticism further across social media.
The reaction was particularly intense because the alleged references involve imagery associated with lynching and racial violence. However, there is currently no public evidence establishing that Converse deliberately intended to reference the KKK or lynching.
Lindsay Clancy fan burns her Converse over an ad TikTok decided is a "coded message" from white supremacists
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 20, 2026
We have a serious mental health crisis pic.twitter.com/dbYVrM9nml
Converse Pulls Image and Admits It Got This Wrong
As criticism spread, Converse removed the disputed image from its social media accounts and said it was working to take it down from other locations where it appeared.
The company acknowledged that people found the image deeply upsetting and apologised for the offence caused, saying it had made a mistake.
'We got this wrong,' the company said in its response to the backlash.
That apology, however, has not ended the controversy. Instead, some users have questioned how the image passed through the creative and approval process before appearing publicly.
One Reddit user who claimed to have worked in marketing argued that the combination of lighting, wardrobe and positioning could not have been accidental. That remains an individual opinion rather than evidence establishing the campaign's intent.
Other users have rejected the accusations entirely, arguing that viewers were reading a sinister meaning into a fashion photograph.
Angry Users Turn Converse Boycott Into Viral Protest
The dispute has now moved beyond criticism of the advert, with some Converse users announcing boycotts and posting videos showing what they claim are acts of protest against the company.
I found even more desperate people manufacturing outrage over Converse, virtue-signaling for clout, and proudly burning and throwing away their shoes. https://t.co/edkiudEorv pic.twitter.com/KdoBZX99qB
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) September 21, 2026
Images and comments circulating on Reddit include users cutting up their Converse footwear, while others have discussed burning their 'All Star' shoes and refusing to purchase from the brand.
One post describing the campaign as racist received thousands of upvotes, with commenters debating the imagery, the company's apology and the decision-making behind the advert.
'I'm going to end up not shopping anymore for how long my boycott list is getting,' one commenter wrote.
Another user questioned who created and approved the campaign, asking how the image had been considered suitable for publication.
Converse has removed the disputed image and apologised, but the question of how the campaign reached the public remains central to the criticism. With users now turning their own trainers into symbols of protest, the company faces the difficult task of moving the conversation back towards its products rather than the controversy surrounding one photograph.
