Australian acting royalty Nicole Kidman has kicked off a storm among fans after revealing she’s signed as a brand ambassador for a controversial fashion label.

Kidman was named as the official brand ambassador for Spanish fashion house Balenciaga on Saturday (US time) after attending its pre-autumn 2024 fashion show in Los Angeles.

The 56-year-old Australian Oscar-winner wowed in a velvet coat dress and the brand’s signature chunky heels at the show in central Hollywood. Fellow A-listers Kim Kardashian and Salma Hayek were also there.

“The legendary actress will continue to grow her long-standing relationship with Balenciaga, where she will be working in an official capacity,” a Balenciaga spokesperson said.

But the signing has proved less than popular with some of Kidman’s millions of social media followers. A post on her Instagram confirming the announcement was flooded with criticism.

“Seriously? Come on Nic. You’re better than this. UGH,” wrote one disgruntled fan.

“No. You too. Did you forget? This designer has been cancelled. They promote ads the public didn’t want. It was wrong,” wrote another.

A third criticised the photo as “very dark and creepy!”

It follows a storm of controversy last  year after a disturbing Balenciaga photo shoot. It included children photographed holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear, and was blasted as inappropriate and creepy.

Among the photos was one of a small, red-haired girl wearing a black Balenciaga T-shirt as she held a white bear with leather-look straps and a string vest with a padlock around its neck.

A second showed a dark-haired child in a blue Balenciaga outfit. She held a purple soft toy also adorned in leather-look straps. A third showed a small girl lying on a couch, the table in front of her scattered with empty wine glasses.

In another image was paperwork later found to be from a US Court case related to child pornography.

Amid a storm of outrage, the fashion house apologised. It blamed “a series of grievous errors” for a campaign “wholly inconsistent with our values”.

“We strongly condemn child abuse. It was never our intent to include it in our narrative,” Balenciaga said.

“All the items included in this shooting were provided by third parties that confirmed in writing that these props were fake office documents. They turned out to be real legal papers, most likely coming from the filming of a television drama.”

At the time, Kardashian – another face of Balenciaga – said she was reconsidering her partnership with the label.

Kidman, who also has a long association with the Spanish brand, did not publicly address the controversy. In 2006, she wore a $20,000 Balenciaga dress to wed fellow Aussie star Keith Urban and last year walked the runway for its couture show.

But not everyone was unhappy with Kidman’s latest move.

“Absolutely obsessed,” singer-songwriter Vanessa Hudgens wrote on the Instagram post.

“Wow,” said Aussie TV star Sophie Monk.