By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-21 02:15:51 | Updated at 2026-09-21 03:23:52
1 hour ago
Converse has been forced to pull an advert for its shoes amid claims it looked like the Ku Klux Klan.
The ad featured K-pop singer Karina holding a pair of trainers below a star-shaped spotlight while wearing a long white dress.
Converse's logo is a star.
But in a bizarre optical illusion, critics said the image, which cuts the K-pop singer off at the waist, looked like a KKK member next to the shoes of someone who had been lynched.
Those involved in the pile-on include Democrat Representative Troy Carter, who raged at the Nike-owned shoemaker for causing "real harm" in a statement on Friday.
"Nike and Converse, what the hell were you thinking?" He said. "Your campaign shows what looks like a hooded Klansman, framed by what appears to be the dangling feet of a lynching victim.
"There is nothing creative or artistic about it. It is racist, reckless and deeply offensive."
He added: "This campaign should never have been created, approved or released. Nike and Converse must answer for it.
Social media users claimed the ad resembled KKK imagery
CONVERSE/NIKE
Troy Carter said the ad campaign looked like a 'hooded Klansman'
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"You have caused real harm, and repairing that harm will require more than an apology written by your public relations department."
After the public outcry, Converse pulled the ad and apologised for the campaign.
"We’re sorry," the historic brand said in a statement. "We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognise that we got this wrong.
"We removed it from our channels and are working to remove it everywhere it appeared.
Congressman Troy Carter claimed the ad was 'racist, reckless and deeply offensive'
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"This should not have happened, and we will do better."
Some on social media demanded a boycott of the brand and even for those involved with the ad's creation to be fired.
One post, with more than 8,000 likes, reads: "I cannot fathom why Converse would green light something so abhorrent. Lynchings of black people in the US is NOT ancient history."
Another accused the brand of "failing the same test" as other corporations.
Converse's Chief Executive Aaron Cain has pledged to review internal processes around the creation of the campaign in an internal memo to employees first seen by Bloomberg News.
Converse was founded in 1908, but since 2003 has been a subsidiary of Nike
He said: "The images should not have been used, and we began removing them from all channels as soon as the concern was raised.
"The leadership team and I are taking a hard look at our internal review process and the critical lens we apply to our work."
In a statement issued after the removal of the ad, the office of Mr Carter, who represents Louisiana's Second District, said: "An apology and the removal of the images are not enough.
"Nike and Converse must explain how this campaign was conceived and approved, identify those responsible, and commission an independent investigation.
"They must also disclose the process and establish safeguards to ensure that imagery invoking the Klan and the lynching of Black people is never approved again."
