Ex-EastEnders star Maisie Smith and boyfriend, The Wanted's Max George, have come under fire after sharing photos of how they spent Valentine's Day together. The couple became an item in September last year.
In the first in a series of photos, Max, 34, has his tattooed arms around Maisie, who's wearing a white vest top. The 21-year-old, who is best known for her role as Tiffany Butcher in the BBC One soap-opera, also shared a picture of a pair of red heels. The final photo showed off a bag from high-end fashion brand, Balenciaga.
Upon posting the photographs, both Max and Maisie were called out for being "inappropriate" because of their use of the Balenciaga brand. For more showbiz and television stories, get our newsletter here.
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"Balenciaga really?? What chance do we have if people with your two platforms are sharing this!" wrote one person, who was outraged by the choice of brand.
A second person said of Maisie and Max's photos: "Who’s still buying Balenciaga after... what’s come out." And a third commented: "Please not the Balenciaga." A fourth person then added: "Balenciaga ffs You can’t support that surely!"
Earlier this year, Balenciaga was criticised for how things contained in its photo shoots, including children holding teddy bears dressed in BDSM outfits and a book by an artist whose work includes paintings of “toddlers engaged in playful but mysterious acts with sinister overtones and insinuations of violence”. It led Kim Kardashian, among many others, to criticise the campaign saying the welfare of children must be protected above everything else.
On November 22, Balenciaga issued a statement, apologsing. It read: “We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items for our spring 23 campaign photoshoot. We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children’s safety and well-being.”
Gabriele Galimberti, the photographer behind the campaign, has distanced himself from the imagery. In a statement, he said: “I am not in a position to comment on Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither chose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same. As a photographer, I was only and solely requested to lit the given scene, and take the shots according to my signature style.”
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