Converse apologises and removes ad over image critics said evoked racist imagery

Converse, the American footwear brand, has apologised for an ad which critics said evoked Ku Klux Klan imagery, saying it recognised why the image was "deeply upsetting".

The ad, posted on Instagram, showed K-pop singer Karina wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X trainers.

Critics claimed the lighting on Karina's skirt created a white triangular image which resembled a KKK hood.

There was also criticism that the way she held the shoes made them look like the dangling feet of a lynching victim.

Converse, owned by Nike and which was founded in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1908, issued a statement apologising and saying it removed the ad.

"We're sorry," said the statement, first released on Friday.

"We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong. We removed it from our channels and are working to remove it everywhere it appeared. This should not have happened and we will do better."

Converse, based in Boston, declined on Sunday to answer questions seeking more information, including how the company screens ads before they are posted and how the ad was approved.

Karina and her management company, SM Entertainment Group, did not immediately respond to messages through their Instagram accounts.

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Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney based in Texas, posted on Instagram that Converse's apology "doesn't undo what got past legal, marketing and leadership at every step".

"We keep having this conversation because corporations keep failing the same test," he wrote. "Do better means catching this before it airs - not after we're offended."

(c) Sky News 2026: Converse apologises and removes ad over image critics said evoked racist imagery