When a public figure says he loves Hitler, everyone should immediately condemn him. Even if that person designs pretty women’s clothing and likes to entertain us by dressing up like a gay pirate.
John Galliano‘s anti-Semitic rant is epically offensive, topping everything Charlie Sheen said this week, and giving Mel Gibson a run for his title as biggest-Jew-hating-douche-bag-public-figure.
“I love Hitler,” a recent tape showed him slurring at the Parisian restaurant La Perle. “People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be fucking gassed.”
Then, of course, with equal disdain to the two snickering girls he’s attacking, he utters, “You’re ugly.”
The scandal started Thursday night when reports of similar abuses were met with an arrest and an almost immediate suspension by his employer, Dior. The speed with which the iconic fashion house reacted seemed to imply that this was not Galliano’s first offense, but instead the last straw. The video below, which corroborated Thursday’s reports surfaced yesterday, and resulted in his termination.
Unlike Dior, the fashion industry’s press, which has long egged on Galliano’s theatrics, took four-and-a-half days and a condemning quote from Natalie Portman to start taking a stand on his ridiculous behavior.
Portman’s strongly worded statement:
“I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments that surfaced today. 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. I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.”
But up until she spoke, the fashion world mostly just sat on their scrawny haunches, quietly aghast, waiting to see what would become of their favorite crazy man. Some industry leaders even defended him.
Italian Vogue’s Franca Sozzani stated:
“I would like to say that I’m just as disgusted by these people who saw what state John was in and took advantage of the situation by trading on his name and notoriety. It’s obvious that this was a bit inauthentic in the sense that if you are truly fighting with someone, you don’t have time to pick up a mobile phone, turn on the video GIGGLING and mockingly film what he is saying.” And, “While I condemn John’s words, I am frightened by how quick these young people were to try to gain notoriety or money while destroying the image of a genius in the process.”
I get what she’s saying. Galliano has been dressing like a pirate with a bad perm for years, and has probably been saying inappropriate stuff for a long, long time. He is, after all, fashion’s enfant terrible. At age 50. I wouldn’t be surprised if his inner circle has been privy to drunken breakdowns in the past, and protected him from uglies with iPhones who would “gain notoriety while destroying the image of a genius.”
This enfant terrible archetype, which is a classic of the music industry, serves no one. Take Vince Neil, who was celebrated for his envelope-pushing (coked-up, drunk, violent) lifestyle and then suddenly torn down when he committed vehicular manslaughter.
The fashion industry prides itself for being tolerant. It proudly supports the gay and transgender community, and has consistently popularizes cultural taboos with wit and style. But it also prides itself in being offensive. Kenneth Cole’s Tweets about the protests in Egypt are another recent example of fashion’s edginess gone amuck.
The media temporization regarding Galliano says something about the contradictions within the fashion world’s culture. I don’t think the industry should become boring and PC, but I also don’t think the press serves anyone by protecting and defending this kind of behavior.
