Converse has withdrawn a sneaker advertisement featuring aespa star Karina after the campaign triggered intense criticism online over imagery that some viewers said evoked the Ku Klux Klan and lynching. The advertisement, part of the brand’s Chuck 70 X campaign, showed Karina dressed in a white skirt while holding black Converse sneakers. Viewers focused on the way the lighting created a bright triangular shape across the skirt, which some compared to a pointed Klan hood, while the sneakers hanging from Karina’s hand were interpreted by some as resembling the feet of a person being hanged. The comparison quickly spread across social media, with critics questioning how the photograph had made it through the company’s review and approval process. Actress Yvette Nicole Brown was among those who publicly questioned the imagery, while other users accused Converse of overlooking obvious symbolism. At the same time, not everyone agreed with the criticism. Some argued that the resemblance was coincidental and said there was no evidence the company had deliberately referenced either the Klan or lynching. Others questioned the lynching comparison altogether, pointing out that the photograph did not literally show a rope, tree, or person suspended above the ground.
Converse ultimately removed the advertisement and issued an apology, acknowledging that the image had caused serious concern. The company said it understood why people found the photograph deeply upsetting, admitted that “we got this wrong,” and said it was removing the image from its own channels as well as working to take it down wherever else it had appeared. However, the controversy continued after social media users brought attention to another Converse campaign featuring a person on a ladder reaching toward sneakers hanging from a tree branch. Some viewers associated that image with the same historical imagery, although Converse has not stated that it was intended as a reference to lynching. Texas civil rights attorney Lee Merritt also criticized the company’s response, arguing that the more important issue was how the advertisement passed through multiple stages of corporate review before publication. Meanwhile, Karina has not publicly commented on the controversy surrounding the campaign. The incident has therefore generated two separate discussions: whether viewers’ interpretations of the imagery were justified and whether Converse’s internal review process should have identified the potential associations before the advertisement was released.