Converse has removed an international sneaker campaign featuring Aespa musician Karina after images prompted widespread online criticism over what viewers said were racist associations. The campaign promoted the Chuck 70 X and Run Star Crush shoes and had been running internationally since late August. In the advertisement, Karina wears a Converse T-shirt, a long white skirt and black Converse shoes as the brand’s star logo appears in different parts of the scene. A still image showed a person standing inside a star-shaped outline created by light, with three pairs of black shoes on the floor and another pair held in the person’s hand. Some viewers said the lighting on the skirt resembled a Ku Klux Klan hood. Others said the positioning of the shoes suggested lynching imagery. Converse said it understood why the image caused harm and acknowledged that the campaign should not have been released. “We’re sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong,” the company said in a statement. “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.” Rep. Troy Carter, a Louisiana Democrat, criticized both Converse and its parent company, Nike. He said the campaign should never have been created, approved or distributed, and called for an explanation of the review process behind it. “Black pain is not a marketing prop. Lynching is not a creative concept,” Carter said. “The Ku Klux Klan is not an aesthetic.” Carter also questioned whether Black employees had been involved in reviewing the campaign and whether their concerns were heard. He said removing the images and issuing an apology did not answer who was responsible or what changes the companies would make. Kendall Peacock, who oversees the Education Firm, said racist intent had not been established but that intent did not erase the impact of the imagery. Peacock also pointed to a separate Converse image posted earlier in September on the company’s Mexico Instagram account. That campaign showed a person on a ladder reaching toward shoes hanging from a tree, imagery that was also removed from the account. The controversy underscores the risks of relying on visual symbolism without considering how advertisements may be understood by communities whose histories include racial terror and state-sanctioned violence. Converse has not publicly detailed any changes to its creative or approval process.