The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has made a partial U-turn over the ban of a Calvin Klein advert featuring the singer FKA Twigs.
Earlier this year, the ASA banned the ad in question, which was first unveiled in March 2023 and featured the Grammy nominee posing nude while draped in a denim Calvin Klein shirt.
At the time, Twigs called out the ASA’s decision, writing on Instagram: “I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me. 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.”
The ASA subsequently said in a fresh statement (via ITV News): “In our previous ruling we judged that, because the ad used nudity and centred on her physical features rather than the clothing she was wearing, it presented FKA Twigs as a stereotypical sexual object.
“After careful thought, our council, the independent jury that decides whether UK ads break the rules, considers that the image was not sexually explicit, that the ad presented FKA Twigs as confident and in control and, therefore, that she had not been objectified.”
They added: “The decision to revisit our original ruling took place in the context of the significant strength of public feeling, including views expressed by FKA twigs, in response to our findings, but was driven by our concern that our rationale for banning the ad was substantially flawed.”
However, BBC News reported that the ad will still remain banned from display “where it might be seen by children”.
A Calvin Klein spokesperson previously said that Twigs was depicted as a “confident and empowered woman” in their ad, which they noted the Cellophane singer had approved herself before it was made public.