A ban on a Calvin Klein advert starring FKA twigs has been partially reversed.
The singer criticised the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after it said the image in the campaign was likely to cause offence by objectifying women.
In a statement, the agency said it had reversed its original decision after a review concluded the image was not sexually explicit. However, the advert remains banned from display where it might be seen by children.
The regulator launched an investigation in response to two complaints about the poster, which showed FKA twigs wearing a shirt drawn halfway around her body.
Text above the singer read: “Calvins or nothing”. In its original ruling, published in January, the ASA found the image “placed viewers' focus on the model's body” rather than her clothing and “presented her as a stereotypical sexual object”.
The musician hit back in a viral Instagram post, accusing the watchdog of double standards and saying she saw “a beautiful strong woman of colour” rather than an object.
The ASA said it was aware of “significant strength of public feeling, including views expressed by FKA twigs” in response to its original findings. But it said the decision to review the ban was “driven by our concern that our rationale for banning the ad was substantially flawed”, a spokesperson said.
However, it maintained the “ad was overtly sexual and was, therefore, not suitable for display in an untargeted medium” accessible by minors.
It said the republished ruling was final.
— CutC by bbc.com
