Calvin Klein's FKA twigs ad banned in U.K. for presenting singer as 'sexual object'

A Calvin Klein ad featuring FKA twigs has been banned in the United Kingdom after it allegedly presented the singer "as a stereotypical sexual object."

The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority announced its decision on Wednesday after receiving complaints that the supposed over-sexualized ad was "offensive and irresponsible" because it "objectified women."

The poster, originally released in 2023, showed the 35-year-old singer wearing a denim shirt with the side of her buttocks and part of her breast exposed.

USA TODAY has reached out to Calvin Klein and representatives for FKA twigs for comment.

The Advertising Standards Authority also reviewed Calvin Klein posters featuring Kendall Jenner, one of which showed the model topless with her hands across her chest. Another showed Jenner lying on her back and pulling down a pair of jeans, showing her underwear.

Calvin Klein told the ASA that its ads did not overly sexualize FKA twigs or Jenner and "contained a progressive and enlightened message." The company also argued that a "degree of nudity should be expected" in advertising for clothing and pointed to the fact that men have also been featured in the campaign, suggesting the aim is not to objectify women.

Furthermore, "all conventionally sensitive body areas were fully covered in the ads," Calvin Klein said, according to the ASA.

However, the regulator concluded that the composition in the FKA twigs ad "placed viewers' focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised," and centered on her physical features in a way that presented her as a "sexual object," making the ad "irresponsible."

But the ASA said both of the Jenner ads are "unlikely to be seen as irresponsible or cause serious or widespread (offense) on the basis of objectification." The first did not portray her as a sexual object, while the level of nudity in the second "was not beyond that which people would expect for a lingerie ad."

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Calvin Klein has been told to ensure its future ads don't "irresponsibly objectify women" and are "targeted appropriately," according to the ASA.

FKA twigs said on Instagram in March 2023 that it was an honor "to be the new face of Calvin Klein," calling her campaign "something that I believe reflects me as a woman and artist."

She added: "These pictures and visuals are a physical representation to remind myself that being strong to the best of one’s personal ability will never go out of fashion."

This ban comes after Calvin Klein recently unveiled a new campaign featuring "The Bear" star Jeremy Allen White stripping down to white boxer briefs.

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