Old habits die hard.
On Thursday fashion designer Kenneth Cole once again drew the focus of the social media world with a tweet to his 55,872 followers making light of the Syria conflict.
The social media reaction was swift as negative responses started flooding in on how Cole’s tweet was in “poor taste” and how some were going to boycott the shoe guru’s line due to this not being the first time he has tweeted a controversial response to a political situation.
But, in a video statement on Instagram, Cole said that he likes to use his platform to provoke conversation about important issues like gun control, war, and HIV.
“I’m well aware of the risks that come with this approach, and if this encourages further awareness and discussion about critical issues than all-the-better,” Cole said in the video.
In April, after the Senate failed to pass legislation to expand background checks Cole tweeted a statement on gun control linking back to his shoe line:
Cole also enraged Twitter in 2011 when he joked about the escalating protests in Egypt in relation to his new spring line.