Converse pulls ad after KKK, lynching imagery backlash
The footwear brand apologized Friday after social media users said a Chuck 70 X campaign photo evoked a white hood and hanging.
What to know
- Converse removed a Chuck 70 X campaign ad after social media users identified imagery resembling KKK symbolism (white pointed hood) and lynching (dangling shoes).
- The brand apologized Friday, saying it 'got this wrong,' but critics including educators and photographers argue the composition appears deliberate and demand accountability beyond removal.
- Photographer Stephanie Schwartz suggested the imagery was intentional; educator Kendall C. Peacock called for answers on who approved it and what systemic changes will follow.
The dispute Whether the ad's problematic imagery resulted from deliberate design or structural negligence in the creative and approval process, though critics on both sides reject the apology as sufficient without concrete accountability. · positions read across 20 posts and comments
The imagery appears deliberately designed and shows systemic negligence or racism in the approval process.
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“Shadow, light, and composition. Every photographer can tell you, whoever did this ad knew EXACTLY what they were doing.”
Stephanie Schwartz · LA Times ↗
Regardless of intent, the impact on Black communities is real and demands accountability beyond an apology.
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“How and why did nobody question these visuals? Deliberate racist intent hasn't been established yet, but that doesn't erase the impact.”
Kendall C. Peacock · LA Times ↗
“Converse, converse, converse! You've been called to the carpet. Who approved this? ... As a Black man and someone who loves Converse shoes, I find this very insensitive and distasteful.”
Kendall C. Peacock · LA Times · Sep 18
Converse Footwear brandKarina K-pop star featured in campaignKendall C. Peacock Educator and criticStephanie Schwartz Photographer
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles
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Converse apologizes and removes advertisement
Converse issued a statement apologizing for the campaign, saying it removed the photo from its social media channels and was working to remove it from everywhere it appeared. The brand acknowledged the imagery was "deeply upsetting" and committed to doing better.
“We're sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong.”
— Converse -
23 outlets Converse pulls latest shoes ad after critics accuse of sharing 'racist' and 'reckless' KKK imagery
first by Fox News, 3d ago · also Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC Australia, Channel News Asia, Boston Globe, CBS News, Daily Wire +16
11 more headlines
- Converse pulls sneaker ad critics say includes racist imagery - ABC News & Headlines Australian Broadcasting Corporation · 3d ago
- Converse pulls sneaker ad critics say includes racist imagery ABC Australia · 3d ago
- Converse apologises and pulls sneaker ad that critics said included racist imagery Channel News Asia · 3d ago
- Boston-based Converse apologizes and pulls sneaker ad that critics said included racist imagery Boston Globe · 3d ago
- Converse pulls sneaker ad after critics say it uses racist imagery CBS News · 3d ago
- Converse Apologizes For ‘Racist’ Ad, Promises To ‘Do Better’ Daily Wire · 3d ago
- Nike’s Converse brand apologizes, removes ad after backlash over racist imagery The Oregonian · 3d ago
- Converse apologizes and pulls sneaker ad that critics said included racist imagery CNN · 3d ago
- Converse apologises and removes ad over image critics said evoked racist imagery Sky News · 3d ago
- Converse apologizes and pulls ad that critics said evoked racist imagery The Guardian · 2d ago
- Converse apologises and removes ad featuring K-pop singer Karina over image critics say evokes racist imagery Euronews · 2d ago
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first by Los Angeles Times, 5d ago · also NYT Business, Sydney Morning Herald, RedState, Baltimore Sun, ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos, Indian Television Dot Com +3
8 more headlines
- Converse Removes Ad That Drew Comparisons to K.K.K. Imagery The New York Times · 4d ago
- Converse removes ad that drew comparisons to KKK imagery Sydney Morning Herald · 4d ago
- Converse Apologizes, Pulls Ad After Critics Compared Single Image to KKK and Lynching Imagery RedState · 3d ago
- Converse apologizes, pulls ad criticized for KKK and lynching imagery Baltimore Sun · 3d ago
- Converse pulls controversial ad, apologizes following backlash over alleged KKK imagery ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos · 3d ago
- Video Converse pulls ad, apologizes following backlash over alleged KKK imagery ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos · 2d ago
- Converse pulls Karina sneaker ad after backlash over KKK, lynching imagery Indian Television Dot Com · 2d ago
- Converse pulls ad, apologizes after backlash over alleged KKK imagery, ABC News reports Investing.com News · 2d ago
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Converse apologizes after controversial ad shows alleged KKK imagery https:// abcnews.com/video/136638942/?u tm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into News @ news-abc
2 more of the top 3 · 18 posts in this stretch
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Jumping to the worst possible interpretation of what someone said with zero cause. Cool. Most people aren't aware of all of the social history of other countries on the other side of the world from where they are, even for America which has been prolific in exporting its culture.
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Converse and Nike deserve to lose many millions over this. Dozens of their people had the opportunity to stop this flaming pile of anti-Black racism and they stayed silent. > Converse has pulled a sneaker ad critics have accused of evoking Ku Klux Klan imagery, and apologized. ⚠️ Content warning ⚠️: linked article contains horrifically racist…
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Photographer and educators voice concerns over intentionality
Photographer Stephanie Schwartz posted on Threads that the imagery appeared deliberate, writing that "whoever did this ad knew EXACTLY what they were doing." Educator Kendall C. Peacock posted an Instagram video questioning the approval process and calling the visuals "very insensitive and distasteful," while DJ SoulChild AC said on TikTok the symbolism was unmistakable.
“Shadow, light, and composition. Every photographer can tell you, whoever did this ad knew EXACTLY what they were doing.”
— Stephanie Schwartz -
background
Social media users flag imagery as evoking KKK and lynching — Social media users began criticizing the campaign photos online, describing the lighting in one image as resembling a white pointed hood and the dangling shoes as evoking a lynching victim. A second image showed models climbing a ladder to reach shoes hung from a tree branch.
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background
Converse launches Chuck 70 X campaign with Karina — Converse internationally launched its Chuck 70 X trainer campaign on August 27, featuring South Korean K-pop singer Karina of Aespa in a series of advertisements for the shoes.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by The Washington Post, 5d ago · also Sky News, Boston Globe
2 more headlines
- Converse apologises and removes ad after backlash Sky News Business · 3d ago
- Converse isn’t the only brand that has faced backlash over an ad. Why does this keep happening? Boston Globe · 2d ago
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first by New York Post, 3d ago · also NY Post
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first by Currently.com, 4d ago · also The Independent
and 12 smaller pieces
What people are saying 17 voices from 2 sites · best of 20 · verbatim
- Yesterday
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I wouldn’t have used the word “mishaps” here ““Who the heck approved that? Controversial Converse ad is just the latest in a string of advertising mishaps.” https://www. bostonglobe.com/2026/09/22/bus iness/converse-ad-controversy-kkk-sydney-sweeney-callaway/
- Sep 22
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Converse pulls ad, apologizes following backlash over alleged KKK imagery https:// abcnews.com/video/136658765/?u tm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into News @ news-abc
- Sep 21
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It's been called disgusting, harrowing and racist. Now, after intense backlash that included a U.S. congressman, several celebrities, marketing experts and a wide swath of the internet, Converse has pulled the sneaker ad critics have accused of evoking Ku Klux Klan imagery, and apologized. https://www. cbc.ca/news/world/converse-ad-…
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Not sure if its intentional or not but after the American eagle, Target, and now Coverse ad controversy it does make me go hmmm I wonder if they are trying to send a message or is it to manufacture outrage, or to drive away minority customers .
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Oh I'm just seeing the same thing everyone else saw to get them to cancel it and issue an apology.
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Some of us live in places where the kkk still wheat pastes fliers into stuff. It's hard not to shake the imagery.
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Yeah on second glance obviously, but literally everyone I know who has seen it thought "hanging person" when scrolling to it.
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And since when does the KKK wear this kind of shoes? I don't even know what kind of shoes American terrorists are supposed to wear.
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Do people usually hang with their feet on the ground…while wearing a dress? Insane that people thought this.
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I don’t see it… it’s not even a shadow that would support the “KKK hood” theory. All I see is a star, sneakers and a girl wearing a white dress. Am I blind?
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Why does the term sweeping judgements sound so serious and funny at the same time
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# CNN # News Converse apologizes and pulls sneaker ad that critics said included racist imagery
- Sep 20
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haha i finally saw the ad yeah that looks kkk-ish, but like, not in a way you're ever going to get from reading history books. I really don't know how I could teach anyone anywhere else to make that association that easily
- Sep 19
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# Converse apologizes for ad featuring # kpop star Karina that contained white cloth and dangling shoes that were compared to KKK lynching images. https://www. tmz.com/2026/09/18/converse-ap ologizes-for-ad-compared-to-ku-klux-klan-lynching/
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What the fuck, # Converse ? https://www. msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/other/ converse-apologizes-for-ad-compared-to-kkk-lynching/ar-AA2cx1qb
- Sep 18
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Yeesh second massive ad faux paux today. AdWeek: Converse Apologizes After Roiling Social Media With Ads That Evoke a Lynching https://www. adweek.com/brand-marketing/con verse-roils-social-media-with-ads-that-evoke-a-lynching/ # advertising # branding # fail # racism # klan
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So, apparently Converse decided to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its Chuck Taylor’s w an ad that … is clearly, inarguably a reference to lynching. By a man in what must be Klan robes. The ad is in the link (not posting a screenshot, bc … obv). There‘s no “plausible deniability“ here. A Converse sneaker ad provokes...