Converse began rolling out its Chuck 70 X campaign in late August 2026, naming K-pop star Karina of the group aespa as its face. One image, posted around September 3, shows Karina under a star-shaped spotlight in a white skirt, holding a pair of black sneakers — critics said it looked like a Klansman's hood with dangling legs beneath it. A second campaign, Converse x Palmes for the Jack Purcell PDM line, posted an image on September 14 of a person on a ladder holding sneakers over a tree branch, and commenters called it a pattern. On September 18, Converse pulled the Karina image and apologized: "We're sorry. 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."

1. This Was Racist, and an Apology Doesn't Answer It (Rep. Troy Carter, D-LA)

Carter isn't taking the apology as the end of the story — he wants to know who approved the image and whether anyone in the room was Black.

Carter says the image is unmistakable. He wrote that the campaign "shows what looks like a hooded Klansman, framed by what appears to be the dangling feet of a lynching victim," and called it "racist, reckless and deeply offensive."

He's speaking from his own identity. Carter introduced his statement by saying "I am a Black man, a son of the South and a Member of Congress from Louisiana."

He rejects the idea this slipped through by accident. Carter said an ad campaign "does not just appear. It is conceived, photographed, reviewed, approved and distributed." In other words, multiple people saw the image before it went live — and none of them stopped it.

He wants Converse to answer specific questions, not just apologize. Carter is demanding to know who created and approved the campaign, and whether Converse consulted any Black employees. He said, "Black pain is not a marketing prop." Actress Yvette Nicole Brown raised the same lynching comparison publicly. Fitness creator Kida Maree posted the Karina image and the ladder photo side by side, arguing the combination was a pattern.

2. This Backlash Is Overblown (Meecham Whitson Meriweather, culture writer)

Meriweather thinks people are pattern-matching a logo reference into a crime scene, and that the backlash itself is the embarrassing part.

Meriweather calls the backlash overblown. He compared it to the outcry that made Pepsi apologize for a Wild Cherry post in July 2026, writing on Threads: "everyone is insane."

He says the ad's own caption explains the image. The campaign's caption reads, "Under stage lights or streetlights, the star always finds the frame." Meriweather argues that's a reference to Converse's star logo, not a coded symbol. As he put it: "the caption tells you what is happening, what is being referenced."

His conclusion is that critics can't read visual reference. He wrote: "Y'all don't know how to talk about art and that's the problem."

3. Don't Blame Karina for the Creative Team's Choices (aespa fans)

Some fans separate the model from the people who built the shot.

Some online blamed Karina directly. One post said she'd "officially become the first kpop idol to be involved in TWO maga scandals."

Other fans say that's misdirected. They argue "Karina was just a model and not on the creative team at all" and shouldn't answer for the campaign's creative direction.

Neither Karina nor her label has said anything publicly. SM Entertainment hasn't commented, and Karina hasn't addressed it herself.

Where This Lands

Carter wants Converse to name who approved the image and disclose whether Black employees were in the room. Converse hasn't answered either question yet. Meriweather's camp says the caption already explains the image and the backlash is the overreaction. Fans are split on whether Karina bears any responsibility for a shot she didn't design. Converse's apology addressed the image, not Carter's specific demands. Neither the company nor Nike has said anything further since.

Sources