A gay kiss between a heterosexual woman and a robot has landed Calvin Klein on the receiving end of “queerbaiting” criticism, and the fashion brand has publicly apologized.

The lip-lock came in a new commercial from CK’s “I speak my truth in my Calvins” campaign, which previously released an ad featuring queer celebs Indya Moore and Troye Sivan and thirst quenchers Shawn Mendes and Noah Centineo, among others.

Related: Calvin Klein’s sexy new video packed with queer celebs & allies, from Indya Moore to Troye Sivan

In the ad, model and self-identifying straight woman Bella Hadid kisses a robot named Miquela. “Life is about opening doors,” says the narrator, assumed to be Hadid but could also possibly be Miquela. “Creating new dreams you never knew could exist.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2jdb3o2UtE

Miquela, who naturally has a presence on Instagram, also “posted” about the virtual partnership:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxhji4UHnmr/

Sexuality is a complicated thing, and so is unpacking what in the hell just happened in this commercial.

But many saw it as a textbook example of “queerbaiting,” or manufacturing queer sexuality to sell a product or idea to the LGBTQ market, without actually identifying as queer.

That Hadid’s same-sex kiss happens to feature a CGI-robot rather than another human woman only adds layers of “huh?” to the messaging.

Related: 7 celebrities accused of queerbaiting: James Franco, Nick Jonas, and more

While we might stop short of calling the ad “offensive” — “ill-conceived” seems like a more apt term — some cried foul.

Madison Malone, an associate editor of the New York Magazine, tweeted: “who is gonna tell Calvin Klein you’re supposed to wait until June for your tone-deaf queer-bait ad campaigns!!”

https://twitter.com/4evrmalone/status/1129125186148732928

And Dazed Magazine published a piece titled, “Bella Hadid and Lil Miquela kissing is… not cool!”

That sentiment was echoed on social media:

Rather than let the hubbub machine inevitably move onto the next publicly perceived misstep, Calvin Klein, a company generally thought to have a solid pro-LGBTQ track record, apologized for the ad on Friday.

“We understand and acknowledge how featuring someone who identifies as heterosexual in a same-sex kiss could be perceived as queerbaiting. As a company with a longstanding tradition of advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, it was certainly not our intention to misrepresent the LGBTQ+ community. We sincerely regret any offense we caused,” the statement reads.

Luckily, Miquela’s 1.5 million Instagram followers can still depend on her for moments of inspiration like this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw8AsTbnI0Y/

Dan Tracer is a queer writer, handstand enthusiast, and lover of all Kaytranada remixes. Find him on Instagram.

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