FKA Twigs Calls Out 'Double Standards' As Her Calvin Klein Ad Is Banned

FKA Twigs has spoken out after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned an advert for the fashion brand Calvin Klein featuring the British singer-songwriter.

Originally unveiled in March last year, the photograph in question saw the Grammy nominee posing nude while draped in a denim Calvin Klein shirt.

Earlier this week, the ASA ruled that the advert was “likely to cause serious offence” and “irresponsible” as they felt the ad “presented her as a stereotypical sexual object”, after just two complaints were made about it.

Twigs had her say in an Instagram post shared in the early hours of Thursday morning, criticising the ASA’s decision and choice of words in their statement.

“I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me,” she wrote. “I see a beautiful strong woman of colour whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine.

“In light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, I can’t help but feel there are some double standards here.

“So to be clear… I am proud of my physicality and hold the art I create with my vessel to the standards of women like Josephine Baker, Eartha Kitt and Grace Jones who broke down barriers of what it looks like to be empowered and harness a unique embodied sensuality.”

Thanking Calvin Klein and photographers Mert and Marcus for giving her “a space to express myself exactly how I wanted”, Twigs concluded: “I will not have my narrative changed.”

As reported by BBC News, a Calvin Klein spokesperson said Twigs was depicted as a “confident and empowered woman” in the ad, which they noted she had approved herself before it was made public.