Calvin Klein's 'upskirt' photo ad is really creeping people out

Longtime advertising provocateur Calvin Klein is at it again.

The fashion house is in hot water on social media this week over an 'upskirt' photo of a model that many found voyeuristic and objectifying.

The company invited Instagram users to "take a peek" up 23-year-old model Klara Kristin's skirt on Tuesday as part of a risqué new ad campaign called "Erotica."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The comment section below the photo immediately lit up with outrage from users upset that the photo was reinforcing "peeping tom" behavior and providing "fodder for pedophiles" -- since Kristin is made to appear underage.

"This is literally advertising up skirt shots," read one representative Instagram comment. "Way to perpetuate rape culture @CalvinKlein, do you have any women in your ad department at all or do you just think they're there for decoration?"

"WTF??? This is so disturbing on so many levels, the biggest one is that she looks 12!" read another. 

By Thursday, the photo had racked up more than 1,800 comments (as well as 45,000 likes) from the brand's 4.8 million followers.

Many of the campaign's other new photos -- shot by the acclaimed fashion photographer Harley Weir -- are similarly racy, but none have inspired anywhere near the same level of backlash.

Stirring up controversy with sexually charged ads is nothing new for Calvin Klein; the brand has incurred the wrath of everyone from former President Bill Clinton to the Department of Justice over the years.

Maybe that's why the Instagram photo remains on Calvin Klein's account two days into the outpouring of opprobrium; the company likely expected the photo to cause a stir.

Calvin Klein did not respond to Mashable's request for comment.

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