Last week, fashion brand Balenciaga apologized after publishing photos of their products which included children holding teddy bears dressed in BDSM bondage gear. The images sparked a backlash across social media, statements from celebrities, and dozens of news posts covering the incident. But, Balenciaga’s public apology, which promised legal action “against the parties responsible for creating the set,” begs the question, who is ultimately responsible when a commercial shoot goes wrong, the company, or the photographer? On Friday, that question was answered in part by a lawsuit filed by Balenciaga against the production company hired for the campaign.

Some of the photographs were taken by Gabriele Galimberti. The photographer’s recent series “Toy Stories” captures children with their toys with an expression of joy that seems to be present no matter what country or culture the child in the photo is from. The Balenciaga images lay out the brands products in a similar fashion to the toys in Galimberti’s series.

[Read: Inside Fashion Photography with Dixie Dixon]

In a statement, the photographer said that he was not responsible for creating the set—only lighting the scene and capturing the actual photographs. “I am not in a position to comment on Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither chose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same. As a photographer, I was only and solely requested to lit the given scene, and take the shots according to my signature style. As usual for a commercial shooting, the direction of the campaign and the choice of the objects displayed are not in the hands of the photographer.”

The photographer also added that the image that shows a court document in similar photos is not one that he photographed. That court document—not the teddy bears—is what’s referenced in the $25 million lawsuit lawsuit filed by Balenciaga against the production company leading the ad campaign, North Six. Balenciaga has also made it clear that it doesn’t intend to sue the photographer, though initially the company did seem to lay blame on Galimberti.

A representative of the set designer told CBS News that Balenciaga was present for the photo shoots and the post production. A commercial shoot is often heavily directed by staff at the company. Staff is typically involved in selecting the products and choosing a direction for the shoot. The images were published on Balenciaga’s website, which suggests that additional staff also saw the content of the images before pushing them live.

With the number of people involved in a commercial shoot, shouldn’t one of them stood up and said, “This isn’t acceptable?” Should the photographer have refused to shoot the images after seeing the set and the items included? Many on social media expressed disgust after Balenciaga initially implied that Galimberti was responsible for the campaign.

Along with the social media backlash, the controversial Balenciaga photo shoot has also lead to statements from celebrities, including Kim Kardashian who says she is re-evaluating her relationship with the company.