French fashion house Dior are to sack British designer John Galliano, following a flurry of complaints that have arisen from accusations that the designer holds anti-Semitic views.
Dior have said that they are to undergo procedures to fire 50-year-old Galliano, who yesterday faced police questioning over illegal anti-Semitic slurs that he reportedly used to a couple in a Paris cafe.
“I very firmly condemn what was said by John Galliano, which totally contradicts the values which have always been defended by Christian Dior,” said Dior’s chief executive Sidney Toledano said in a statement released today.
In a video obtained over the weekend by UK tabloid The Sun, Galliano is seen hurling anti-semitic insults diners and declaring “I love Hitler… People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers would all be fucking gassed.”
Sunday night’s Best Actress Oscar winner and face of Miss Dior Cherie perfume, Natalie Portman, has been quoted as saying she was “deeply shocked and disgusted by the video”. In a written statement, Portman added, “In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way.”
The offending video is below, although we should mention that it has not been conclusively proven that the man in the video is in fact Galliano.
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