Donatella Versace: “Feminism is dead in the world, it comes from another time”

“GOLLUM!!!!” *throws salt, wields crucifix*

Donatella Versace has a wonderful new interview with The Telegraph (UK) to promote the autumn/winter Versace line which debuted in Milan this week. You should read the full interview – go here. I’m going to do some highlights because, well, I kind of love Donatella. It’s the same kind of love I have for Karl Lagerfeld – when you get to a certain point in the fashion industry, you are always going to be flat-out INSANE. Donatella is incredibly quotable, interesting, kind, blasé, funny and yes, cray-cray. I love her. The highlights:

Being 57 years old and “keeping young”: “How do I keep young?” she growls in a dust-bowl of an accent so thick it sometimes requires subtitles. “Haven’t you heard? I sleep every night in the deep freezer!”

Her “armor”: The flaxen, waist-length extensions, the fake lashes, the Botox (“only on my face, not on my body, that’s the result of hard work”) and stormy expressions – is a front she has been cultivating ever since, aged 11, her big brother Gianni goaded her to peroxide her hair.

She’s BFFs with Miuccia Prada: “It surprises me,” she retorts. They first met in Milan, “at some event, somewhere… I made a joke and she started to laugh and she said let’s go and get some paninis because we’re starving… and off we went. We just talk, talk, talk. She’s so inspiring. We make fun of each other and teach each other. She says, ‘I could never make sexy clothes, but I love them.’ And I say, ‘Well, I love what you do’.”

On feminism: Miuccia Prada recently told me, dejectedly, that feminism was dead in Italy. Does Donatella agree? “Feminism is dead in the world. It comes from another time. I’m a feminist. I want to fight, but I don’t see many people with this desire to fight for something. Women don’t help each other, especially in fashion. I know Miuccia… but that’s it. Nobody else.”

Living up to her brother Gianni: “You’re right,” she says. “I’ve always been hard on myself. I still am. In order to be responsible you need some discipline in your life. For a while I lost mine. But I’ve got it back now. Maybe a bit too much… I’m so disciplined. I’m so on time. What happened to me?”

How discipline works for Donatella: It means working out four times a week (“not in fresh air, I’m not going to pretend I’m a country girl”), rather than giving up smoking. She has cut down – just one packet a day, for which she has created a special cover so that she doesn’t have to keep looking at the Smoking Kills message. Less predictably, she says she loves reading historical biographies – her current book is on Queen Victoria. She tried reading Fifty Shades of Grey , the erotic mega bestseller, but found it too badly written to finish. Actually, she is surprisingly old-fashioned – especially where her children are concerned: “I think there was a time when I was too strict and controlling,” she admits. “I think I asphyxiated my children.”

Her daughter, Allegra: Allegra, her 24-year-old daughter who inherited 50 per cent of the company and who, Donatella says, plays Saffy (the sensible daughter in Ab Fab) to her Eddie, now works in the family business, researching textiles, having previously turned her back on it to act. “I’ve been surprised by her concentration and determination,” says her mother.

Her son: Daniel, her 20-year-old son, is a rock musician living in London. “He’s recording right now. He’s always in the studio but he never lets me listen. He’s very private. He doesn’t want to be recognised as my son. Not that Allegra listens to me, either. Neither of my children listens to me,” she sighs contentedly.

On working with Lady Gaga: Oddly, the two events that proved most restorative were her recent collaborations with Lady Gaga, who is something of a DV doppelgänger in looks as well as spirit, and the high street chain H&M. The former had personally requested that Donatella dress her. “We opened the archives and she was, like, wow, and then I designed some pieces for her and she went crazy.”

Following her instincts: “After Gianni died all these experts kept telling me what would sell and what wouldn’t. After a while I realised nobody knows. He always said, you have to follow your instincts. There was no ‘safe’ with Gianni. He wasn’t a safe person. He kept telling me not to be afraid of anything.”

On family: “Family…” she breaks off. This is the real key to her revival. “You do what you can for them. They don’t listen,” she shrugs. “But if they did they’d be telling me that the most important things in life are strength, determination, loyalty and never giving up. You have to fight for everything.”

[Via The Telegraph]

So much to love! She get Botox “only on my face, not on my body, that’s the result of hard work.” AMAZING. She’ll work out four times a week (but not in fresh air!) but she won’t give up smoking. She’s a feminist who thinks feminism is dead. I kind of want to marry her. She’s wonderful.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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172 Responses to “Donatella Versace: “Feminism is dead in the world, it comes from another time””

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  1. mayamae says:

    She frightens me.

  2. wendy says:

    yes… she’s… “wonderful”… ?!?!

  3. Aud says:

    Skeletor…
    Or what Madonna will look like at age 70.

    • ladybert62 says:

      Hi Aud – GOOD ONE!!! Made me laugh out loud!

      • Aud says:

        TY 🙂
        She is something isn’t she? I can’t even begin to imagine what she looks like in the flesh.

    • Nadinek says:

      haha speaking of Madonna..it amazes me that this women is only 3 years older than M who will turn 54 this summer ..next to her M is a breath of fresh air(even though she had her share of plastic surgery) i’m talking about body skin, smoking and tanning make your skin leathery and haggard.

  4. Cherry says:

    Are there people who use botox on their bodies? Is that even possible? Has anyone asked Madonna, she’ll know.

    • k says:

      Botox can be used on various parts of the body for treatment of chronic pain. I’ve never heard of anyone using it cosmetically.

    • Minty says:

      Botox is also used as a temporary treatment for excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) on various parts of the body.

      • Amelia says:

        Beat me to it, Minty! There’s someone in my class who did that purely for vanity’s sake – she didn’t want to “sweat all on her clothes”.
        It was the weirdest thing, I saw her across the gym once short-circuiting a treadmill, and it looked so odd. Her tank was essentially a photo negative. The only light grey part was the exact shape a sweat stain would normally be. And I heard that it’s apparently quite bad for your body’s thermoregulation if you supress sweating.
        Anywho. Back on topic.
        Well … you know a book’s bad when even a batsh*t fashion designer says it’s poorly written. And acording to the Mail, E.L whatsherface is raking in $1,000,000 A WEEK.

  5. MST says:

    My eyes . . . oh my eyes . . .

    • Maguita says:

      Why?

      What you have in front of you is the absolute vilification of a strong-willed woman, yet so uncomfortable in her own skin, so precariously sensitive, that no matter her undeniable genius, she still had fallen victim to the most superficial of industries: The fashion world.

      It is at odds her strive for perfection in her career, yet the absolute disdainful destruction for her own self, her physical image.

      The most surprising thing about Donatella, her looks are so much in contradiction with her words… It leaves you breathless. When you look at her you think, “Keeper of the Crypt”, but when you read her you think, “mother and working woman at odds in the same body, like so many career women, still today”.

      Her words always leave me flabbergasted, pondering their meaning because of the weirdness of a head they came out of. They are simple, non-exotic or out of the ordinary, unlike Lagerfeld’s sometime pompous and delusive phrasing, Donatella is honest and has no fear of being transparent. That is, when you allow her to talk to you. When you get over the freakish physical envelope, and actually have the decency to read her words.

      I find her sad, but the reality is, she is leading her life much more passionately than most of us. She could have been an elitist twit marrying gigolos for her money, but she took over her brother’s business and continued on to make it the biggest, and one of the most unique, designer brand in the world.

      Sometimes, the ugliest woman is the most beautiful, especially when you take the time and get to know her.

      Forgive me for I find myself very defensive of Donatella Versace. Yes, many women had suffered more than she did, but after all she’d accomplished, the least we can do is actually read her words, and judge her more on them, than on her physical attributes.

      • Tara says:

        Thank you! I hate how we are so quick to dismiss her due to her looks. She’s still a person, and a very accomplished and interesting one at that.

      • Maguita says:

        Thank you Tara! Sometimes we are too obsessed with one’s looks, and I am the first at times to criticize so superficially.

        All in all, she’s an awesome Lady. Even if she looks…Like that!

      • Miffy says:

        THANK YOU!!! Beautifully and intelligently written.
        She’s spectacular, I love her. I want to know more about her.

      • mayamae says:

        Maguita –

        I get what you’re saying, I really do. But this is not a woman who was born looking “unfortunate”. I rarely post things about looks here (except maybe for the Willis daughters – but who could blame me?). I would have passed on by this thread with no comment. I also would not comment if I thought there was a chance that the person would read my comment.

        This is a woman who willingly caused herself to look like this. I will not validate her choices by pretending she is not hideous. I don’t know if she lives in the U.S. but I am so sick of American women who subject themselves to these procedures. We have started losing perspective of what women really look like as they age. I would suggest that in this aspect she actually harms the women’s movement by perpetuating this belief that natural aging is unacceptable.

      • Maguita says:

        Thank you Ladies, how kind of you!

        @mayamae, I get your point, I do. But what I was trying to translate, notwithstanding what she, herself, had done to her outer-physical envelope, her words deserve to be read, and commented upon.

        As for feminism, in my (limited?) experience is, the harder the life, the more controversial, the most deserving the woman is worth listening to.

        Especially when she speaks with honesty, self-deprecation, and most importantly, with tolerance. And if I’m not mistaken, what she trying to say here, is no matter her disagreement with her children, she is quite tolerant and open in letting them lead their own lives, funnily enough, because she’s quite aware of how far from a role model, one of respect and virtue, she truly and really is.

    • melior says:

      100% behind Maguita’s opinion Donatella experiments with everything even with her body image and the public perception. People should take the time to actually read her

      • Maguita…yes. And no. I agree that there is much, much more to her than meets the eye. She is a talent, she is outspoken in the oddest of ways, and that she is undoubtedly insecure about her looks. BUT. To say that she is a “victim” of the fashion industry is false. You are portraying her as a victim, as if she is so weak-willed as to not have a choice in the mater. Yes, the industry is superficial, but it is firmly based in art, design, and talent (which she undoubtedly has). Of all of the vilified traits of the industry, the possession of talent is an absolute necessity. Lets not join the bandwagon and point fingers at the “frivolity” of an industry that is not on trial here. The cutthroat nature of the fashion industry, after all, is dictated by supply and demand at the end of the day (ours). Donatella’s talent, perhaps in spite of her, can speak for itself. It is not a victim.

      • Maguita says:

        I am trying to see your point here, but unfortunately, I still perceive her as a victim of her own undoing.

        And her own undoing, no matter how difficult her childhood might have been, and it was, however elitist the environment she grew up in. She wasn’t raised to be an entrepreneur, rather somewhat of an heiress to be sold at an age for a fruitful marriage, based on her inheritance and name. With the knowledge that her own looks where not up-to-par with her status.

        Working in the fashion industry, ESPECIALLY in that industry, worsens one’s fears and lack of self-worth. You are disconnected from reality. Look at Lagerfeld, how disconnected is he: By the way he dresses, by his constant unapologetic promotion of his very young companion and “muse” Baptiste, by his traumatic weight loss, by his plumped lips, and most notably, by his disconnected showmanship that his theatrical everyday life has become.

        Karl too is somewhat a victim of the fashion world. However, his lack of graciousness and at times tolerance, makes him quite unpalatable as a person, but still admirable as walking, talking, fashion royalty personage.

  6. Ramie says:

    she is terrifying.

  7. NYC_girl says:

    Didn’t her daughter have an eating disorder? I thought she was hospitalized and in serious danger a while ago. Her mother’s appearance is frightening too. The bleached eyebrows and trout pout -horrible.

  8. Genevieve says:

    I’ve always kind of adored her, too. As you said, just like Lagerfeld, she’s been around long enough and performed to the point that she’s entitled to be a “freak”. And she does that beautifully, lol.

    • RocketMerry says:

      I agree, she’s an amazing person. She works 24 hours a day and is a control freak, so everything the Versace House puts out is 99% Donatella (1% is very due credit to her sewers and collaborators).
      Also, odd as it seems, I do get what she means when she talks about family and work: she’s a traditional Italian woman in those areas 🙂

      And lastly… nobody pays her to be pretty like one of her models or to be a beauty pageant contestant, so… but yeah, her looks are kind of frightening 🙂

      • Genevieve says:

        Haha…a BEAUTIFUL summation, CHEERS!

      • Seagulls says:

        Very well said. I love Donatella. I love strong personalities in general (when I get to watch from afar, that is).

      • daisydoodle says:

        she worked 24 hrs a day, because she was addicted to cocaine, which, in turn ruined the cartilidge in her nose….her nose has collapsed upon itself….

  9. really says:

    She is horrible.

  10. Waldemar says:

    The best description of her is still from Patsy Stone from AbFab

    “Liver sausage in a wig”

  11. flan says:

    She wants feminism to be dead, because women are seeing more how brands like hers are harmful to us by promoting such unhealthy body shapes.

    Luckily it is not dead at all, but is making a great revival because of all the crazy anti-women stuff in the US.

    • bluhare says:

      We can only hope, Flan.

    • nke says:

      I totally agree Flan. Wasn’t it Donatella who wouldn’t allow size 4 & 6 models in an H&M collab ad campaign just this past year? Which I found interesting as well considering her own daughters struggle with anorexia.

  12. brin says:

    She looks like she comes from another time…Neanderthal or Cro Magnon.

  13. KJ says:

    I’m sorry Donatella, I didn’t hear a word you said. I was too busy gagging at your face.

  14. ZigZagZoey says:

    You really have to question that she is even human. SCARY as hell.
    I cannot possibly imagine seeing that in the mirror.

  15. marie says:

    love to read/hear her interviews but looking at pictures of her frightens me..

  16. Lipsy says:

    This interview was fun to read! What are people complaining about.

    • melior says:

      Exactly! What are people complaining about? This lady has got guts. She’s fierce. How often do you see this n Hollywood? All the comments about her face sadly prove to me that despite saying that they care about personality, character and personal substance the commentators on this site are just as vapid as the stars they’re bitching about. Disappointed in the reactions, really.

      • truetalk says:

        Commenting on her face would be harsh if it was natural but since she is surgically and chemically altering it to look like the ghost of halloweens past, then she’s fair game.

      • RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

        Thank you Melior!!! I am totally disgusted by the commentators on here. Donatella raised some really interesting and taboo ( among women) topics such as the concept of women not helping women. I love how eveyone on here just glossed over THAT dirty little topic! lol’s. look up “horizontal violence.”
        For me: I thought she was refreshing and I love her real-ness and her frankness and her comfort with herself and being who she is and yes her vulnerability too. And I love that she raised the issue of how women treat eachother. Im a new yorker and a small business owner ( was once a ballet dancer and a model). the fact of the matter is in NYC no woman will ever show you the ropes, or help you…EVER. Any help, advice or mentoring I ever got, ever was from a man. Thats the truth. Dont expect any woman to give you a helping hand. If anything all Ive ever witnessed is women sabataging other women. Sad but true. Now THAT is something worth talking about! Not how Donatella looks. Typical.

      • yep says:

        @RdyfrmycloseupmrD… yes it is typical. Even you had to insert in your comment a reference to your own looks although it was completely irrelevant.

      • RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

        @ Yep….actually all of my comments were relevent to making my point. But thank you for your worthless comment 😉

  17. Jenna says:

    Yeah…I can’t take anything she says seriously because of that face of hers. Probably mean, but…true! o_O

  18. kc says:

    Her face flat out scares me.

    Feminism, dead? No. I think it has evolved.

    • Cherry says:

      In all fairness, I think she kind of meant that feminism-comment as a provocation. By saying that it ‘comes from another time’, she doesn’t mean that feminism is no longer needed. Indeed, she calls herself a feminist and says ‘I want to fight, but I don’t see many people with this desire to fight for something. Women don’t help each other, especially in fashion.’
      Now, I’m pretty sure Donatella is completely insane, but she’s making a similar point here that I’ve heard other women of her generation making. I recently heard my mother complaining about us ‘young girls’ not standing up for our rights anymore. Maybe there’s some truth in that. Modern-day feminism is much more opportunistic than what it was in the sixties and seventies. That particular kind of active, almost militant feminism may indeed be dead.

      • flan says:

        She’s just trying to convince people it’s dead because it suits her. People like her are natural enemies to feminism, because feminists usually don’t look kindly upon the superficial, pro-anorexic fashion world.

        And the last year feminism has definitely made a revival, with students and other young women daring to come out openly as feminists again.

      • Cherry says:

        You may be right flan. Maybe I’m reading too much into Donatella’s comments.

    • Jordan says:

      Yeah, but evolved into what?

    • Starsh says:

      Feminism may well have been at its height in the 60s and 70s but women’s rights globally and gender equality have not changed much and do need continued work (especially with regard to reproductive rights, relationships, abuse, salaries – you name it). In fact, in the US, judging from the reality TV scourge, its a bad time for young women out there. Instead of Gloria Steinem they have Playmates or Snooki or Housewives of wherever or pregnant teens as role models! But whatever. Women these days make no link in their minds betweeen the hard work of earlier feminists and the power they are now permitted to have.

      • Jordan says:

        Yeah, the US is not even ranked in the top 5 countries for women. Sad, really.

      • Trashaddict says:

        It chills me to hear people talking about feminism in the past tense, like it is some quaint 60’s/70’s fad. It was dead serious while it was often not taken seriously. Women who tried to evolve into more complete people were met with condescension or outright hostility. Still true in many parts of the world and yes, there is still a lot of work to do. I would not be in the career I am now without the women who took great risks, and I have a future stake in this with daughters who I hope will not be limited by expectations about their gender.

    • Guardian Sphinx says:

      The fact that feminism is still around is an indication that it has failed as a movement. It was co-opted by the CIA (look it up) and turned into another movement designed to keep men and women at eachothers throats, just like the racial wars, religious wars, etc.

      We will need to surpass ALL forms of this and embrace “humanism” and get out of the victim mentality mindset.

  19. logan says:

    I’m not going to make a Lindsay Lohan remark here. I’m not, I’m not.

  20. dorothy says:

    Looking young? She’s downright frightening. The lips, the teeth..all of it.

  21. amurph says:

    Holy…now I know what was living under my bed when I was little. Can we use her face as a punishment for children who misbehave?

  22. Mimi says:

    I can’t with her, her face, her seriously ill daughter, any of it. I’m almost inclined to think that feminism IS dead just by looking at that face.

  23. daisydoodle says:

    we need to put some lipstick on this pig…

  24. cupidityrox! says:

    How do people not flinch when they see her?

  25. DetRiotGirl says:

    Is anyone else finding the mobile version of the site almost unusable today? Let me begin this rant by saying that I absolutely loath mobile sites to begin with. If I’m viewing a page that my device is capable of seeing in it’s desktop form, I would always rather see the full version.

    For some reason, the on/off switch for the mobile site just stopped loading for me sometime yesterday. I’ve tried reopening the Internet and cycling my phone. No luck. I can deal with that, but now the links to the second page aren’t working either! Is anyone else having this problem? Or is the issue my phone? I haven’t experienced problems like this with any other site in the past 24 hours.

    As for Donatella, those pictures will haunt my nightmares forever. *shivers*

    • KK says:

      @DetRiotGirl I can only see first page posts, my mobile buttons are dead too!

    • Mimi says:

      Yeah it’s been super buggy for me too.

    • Chatcat says:

      It’s not just the mobile version…I am on my desktop and have had issues this morning.

      As a matter of fact, it froze up a bit ago on these pictures of Donatella, and I can assure you, not being able to scroll quickly past her pictures can be very traumatizing.

    • Celebitchy says:

      You guys the server people updated our caching program last night which makes the site load faster. This had a compatibility issue with the software that controls the mobile version of the site. I believe that I’ve fixed whatever was going on with it by changing some settings, as other sites have had this issue.

      Please reload the site (hit shift-reload if you’re on a PC) and let me know if you still are experiencing any issues with it. You can e-mail me also at info -at- celebitchy.com. I’m sorry about that and thanks for your help troubleshooting!

  26. Marla says:

    When I become Queen, I will banish her picture from the kingdom ! Oh, no dragons either.

  27. jc126 says:

    Hmm. Is it feminist for us mostly women to slam her for her looks? I tend to agree that women don’t help each other much.

    • flan says:

      I don’t slam women for their looks on sites like these, but I can understand in this case that people are freaked out by her appearance.

      And I disagree that women don’t help each other much. I have always had female friends in my life and we always help each other out. Let’s focus on those friendships (and mother-daughter ones) for a change and not always repeat how women always hurt each other.

      We don’t say men don’t help each other much when they blow each other up again in the Middle East or have another gang war in the US.

      • jc126 says:

        I think she might mean help each other on a professional level, not friendship. I would say I’ve found that to be true, generally.

    • Beta says:

      +1 agree with you jc
      case point: every.single.post in this site

      • yoyobaby says:

        Here. Here.

        Women tear each other up in the workplace.
        Women harshly judge one another.
        Women choose partisan politics over standing together. Women are woman’s worst enemies.
        Some say competition is innate – a primal response to fight over resources to save the young and attract a male to procreate.
        So the problem with feminism innately it flawed and misaligned to woman’s primal response.

        Any shred of feminism – of the 4th wave – Gloria S group was shredded in the early noughts where women such as Paris H and Kim K advanced in society both socially and economically for filming degrading sex tapes. Getting peed on in sex tape, didn’t really further the cause. Also, set a precedent for young girls and teenagers. It will be interesting to see the ramifications on sociological level of – the create sex tape and advance in society.

      • Nina says:

        So true, so true… i was an exec on wall street, which isn’t known for being a very female-friendly place, but the worst treatment and back-stabbing unquestionably came from other women. I support DV’s desire to be a strong, provocative and creative woman… but just feel sad when I look at her. and what’s up with those nostrils?

    • Mimi says:

      She does that to her face on purpose; she bleaches, pricks, nips, tucks, fills, etc., because she’s conforming to what I would consider a very patriarchal “ideal” of what’s attractive. I personally find her comment re: feminism ridiculous precisely because of the way she looks. Yeah it’s her face, her life, her insanely anorexic daughter, but come on…she’s not helping the cause much either.

    • Jordan says:

      I agree. A feminist would would say, her body, her right. On here, you see more blasting her for her looks than anything she actually says, which honestly, I didn’t find too crazy.

    • Miffy says:

      Thank you, I was just scrolling down to make the very same point.

      I was intrigued to read her reasoning for feminism being dead, then I read these ridiculous comments. The woman is a creative genius and obviously one of the better business people of our times yet all anyone can talk about is her face. Fuck, I’m pretty sure Donald Trump doesn’t get it this bad about his outward appearance.

      Apparently you can be successful, you can be a failure, you can be rich, you can be poor, you can be a raging drug addict, you can be a health freak, but you better make damn sure you’ve got a pretty face. That’s all that matters.

      • melior says:

        second that

      • Trashaddict says:

        No, no, what we’re saying is that perhaps her face might have been fine if she had left it the hell alone instead of trying to modify it to what she thinks people want to see.

  28. Flim says:

    I find it amusing that a high-fashion industry mogul attempts to comment objectively on feminism.

    • RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

      You know what? Im a feminist and I love fashion. I dont understand why if one is to be a true feminist youve got to shun make up, have hairy armppits and dress is burlap sacks??
      The bottom line is the bottom line…….equal pay, universal childcare, and politicians stopping dictating to women about their own bodies. Thats the basics of what feminisim is all about. Women get very caught up in stupid sh&t that doesnt really matter.
      I can fight for those things while being dressed nicely and looking good thank you very much.
      AND, without the anger and militancy and “man hating”. What it boils down to is equal respect and MONEY. Not, who does the dishes? Who cleans the house? Who gives a crap!? PAY me!!!!

      • Crystal says:

        ‘Women get very caught up in stupid sh&t that doesnt really matter.’

        Women don’t get caught up in the stupid shit we just know that we can walk and chew gum at the same time. You can fight for equal pay and still point out size zero models and the unrealistic beauty standard marketed to young girls. It’s not that hard.

        Equal pay may be the focus but we also need a society where men don’t think we’re inferior and that they should have their dinner on the table every night just because. You may not care about who does the dishes but you’d be surprised about how many young boys are growing up learning that it’s a woman’s job anyway. We can advocate the loss of that train of thought alongside equal pay. Doesn’t have to be one or the other.

        ‘AND, without the anger and militancy and “man hating”.’

        This sounds like something a man would say tbh. WTF is ‘man hating’??? And why wouldn’t feminists be angry? With all the shit woman go through they have every right to be angry. I guess we could be calm and tip-toe around men’s feelings until they wake up and give us one inch of the respect we deserve. Clearly sitting on our hands and coddling men has worked bloody well for us in the past. I’m not here to nurse anyone’s battered ego, that’s not what got us our various levels of freedoms in the past.

        You also seem to really love pointing out that women dont help each other based on your own experinces in NY. So what about the women who have had help from women. Does that count at all ??? Probably not. It’s easier to think that women are unsupportive, back stabbing b*tches. It’s what we’re taught.

      • RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

        Snort……its angry women like you that give the cause a really bad name. No ones ego is battered except maybe yours. You seem really angry.
        And I make it a habit to help as many women as I can. So get over yourself.

  29. LittleDeadGirl says:

    Errr she’s a feminist who only makes stuff for size zero women and focuses on the outside and not on the inside? I seee. In my opinion if you wanted to focus on world feminists its the ones trying to get rights to women in parts of the world where they can’t even drive or go to school. They can’t look at another man for fear of being beaten. Those are feminists and they aren’t dead. I don’t see what makes her a feminist.

  30. Nina says:

    I’ve always wondered, how come she didn’t fix that nose. It wold give her face totally new image. If it’s because of charisma, then i applaud her

  31. k says:

    Looking at her makes me sad. I’m trying to find some vestige of her original person …perhaps her eyes? She has very pretty eyes.

    I wonder how her warped obsession with her looks has affected her daughter, who struggles with eating disorders.

  32. Ann says:

    “Keeps looking young?” Are you kidding? I know tons of people in their 50’s who look better than her. I honestly thought she was much older than that. That’s a rough looking 57.

    • Lisa says:

      I KNOW! My mom is 63 and she looks a million times better. I thought Donatella was in her 70’s.

      • sup says:

        she tanned too much in the nineties. the albino hair-dark tan was so fashionable. that and starving yourself-which she did a lot too.

  33. LAK says:

    O M G She didn’t???!!!!!

  34. ladybert62 says:

    I have to admit she has guts – if I looked like that – I would never leave the house and would have all mirrors destroyed. She is truly scarey looking.

  35. Katija says:

    GEEEEEET OUUUUUUUUUT!

    (Sorry, I don’t give a hoot about fashion types… but she always reminds me of how much I love Maya Rudolph.)

  36. TK says:

    MY EYES!!! OH GOD!! THE HORROR!!!

  37. Lisa says:

    Lady Gaga in 40 years.

    • kristiner says:

      I’ve been saying this for YEARS now. It’s CRAZY how much Gaga looks like Donatella!

      • Lisa says:

        If Gaga was serious about sleeping with makeup and never washing her face, it could happen a lot sooner!

  38. sup says:

    i like her too and Karl. sharing Kaiser’s sentiments. they’re like the insane movie villains you love to hate.

  39. Kloops says:

    So many questions, not the least of which is why doesn’t she have any eyebrows?

  40. Anon says:

    Loved the interview; She exhibits so much self awareness. The nail went in the coffin for feminism at the conference in China; quite an eye opener for the rest of the world. Women who do not live in the first are finding practical solutions to their men/work /family problems independent of feminist ideology. Who needs to listen to selfishness?

    • RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

      Can you please elaborate on the conference in China?? What was so suprising?? What happened??

  41. Minty says:

    The poster child for plastic surgery gone wrong.

    Why do people interview fashion designers as if they have important things to say? They’re frickin’ dressmakers and self-important ones at that. They sell overpriced clothes to people with more money than common sense.

    Donatella isn’t even the talented one in the Versace family. That was Gianni (rest in peace). She may be a successful businessperson, but she would be nothing without him.

  42. yaa says:

    my granny who is 93 looks better than her.she is so scary

  43. Dredz says:

    Actually she’s right… And she’s actually witty. The house of Versace should bring in fresh talent like what Gucci did with Tom Ford… Revamp the whole line really!.

  44. Dawning Red says:

    I see Lindsay Lohan went back to blonde!

    • logan says:

      See my comment #19. I knew I couldn’t be the only one who saw the resembalance. I am just tired of raggin on the girl.

    • Dawning Red says:

      It’s those duck lips! If you take the classic picture of Lohan in the pink bathrobe with the gold purse and place it next to this zombie, they look like twins!

  45. Janet says:

    If they didn’t already have burqas, she would be a good reason to invent one.

  46. Stubbylove says:

    You just gotta love this crazy bitch.

  47. Malificent says:

    Zombie Barbarella….

  48. eska says:

    If feminism is dead and she is a feminist, what does it make her? A zombie in the wig!

  49. madpoe says:

    arrgghh! OMG! WTF?! make it stop!
    as my computer screen lies dying….

  50. islandwalker says:

    I’m the same age as her. Damn, I look fantastic!!!!

    Can’t knock her work ethic though.

  51. *Roxy* says:

    Lady Voldemort

  52. NM6804 says:

    This:

    “Women don’t help each other, especially in fashion.”

    And then this:

    http://www.celebitchy.com/192355/donatella_versace_squashes_newspaper_photoshoot_using_regular_people_as_models_for_her_hm_line/

    Shut up miss Versace. Change starts with yourself. If she can’t present herself to the world without conforming to a certain “beauty norm” (perpetuated by the media and fashion) then why should I accept her as a fellow feminist? She knows where the problem lies yet as the strong intelligent female that she certainly is, she happily takes the side of everybody who works AGAINST change. How can you try and fistpump about being a feminist and not push for change yourself? Not with herself nor the company she owns.

    She might be intelligent and strong but that doesn’t mean she isn’t insecure inside and corrupted by the superficial world she happily lives in and enjoys.

    She clearly joins forces with those people that want feminism to be dead as evidenced by her hardcore need to look younger than she is through butchering her face and actually looking like an evolved form of ET and going to the gym to obtain a size lower than 4. And the need to put women as interchangeable coat hangers in her show, not caring about how they got so skinny in the first place. She loves the norm, she actively participates in the norm.

    Madonna is slayed for not staying true to her power messages to women throughout her career because of the way she looks and acts now but THIS woman who might possible be even worse is getting an applause? Interesting interviews won’t win me over. Nu-uh sir…

    And please, don’t even try and make me feel bad because like others I state the obvious about her looks since she is a women who allows girls to walk the catwalk in size 0, small dangerous shoes, low pay (only supermodels are rich) and whatnot. She doesn’t give a damn about the woman in HER own company so let’s not pretend that she cares in general. Ludicrous.

    Oh and really, no way that I would look up to this feminist:

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oAUUBjOH6KU/T8YjGqqcpMI/AAAAAAAAIJs/HV0bx_8jkiU/s1600/donatella-versace-surgery.jpg

  53. buckley says:

    Aww…sweet memories of Maya Rudolph impersonating her on SNL.

  54. Kayla says:

    I wish political correctness would also become dead in the world.

  55. birdie says:

    She is very scary looking, she became a very ugly woman. She used to be pretty and healthy, but the fashion industry destroys you. Just look at her daughter Allegra, who is only skin and bones.

  56. Marianne says:

    Ok there is more than just botox going on….

  57. Lucy says:

    why do people feel the need to declare feminism’s death? Isn’t it funny that it’s usually the ones who need it most, or who have benefitted from it most, who do so.

  58. anon says:

    you sound really stupid here celebitchy. Feminism is important, ellaborate.

  59. Moi says:

    Holy cow!!! That coming from one of the scariest creatures on the planet. She needs to be quiet and get her poor anorexic daughter some help.

  60. Team Six says:

    Does money make up for it? Ladies – would you trade – have her money but have to look like her?

    Not enough money in the world …. but hey that’s me …

  61. jwoolman says:

    Trying to figure out what really makes her look scarey. I think it’s just the eye makeup. If I met her on the street or in the grocery store without makeup, she would look okay even with the sun damage (she doesn’t look unnatural like Tanning Bed Mom) . Plenty of women have similar features, but they don’t do the Elvira thing. She’s awfully bony but some people are, so even that wouldn’t scare me. Neither would the lips, some people have very full lips also. So it’s really just what’s around her eyes, actually seems to hide her eyes rather than accentuate them. She still has interesting things to say, so I guess I could put up with the makeup once I got used to it.

  62. jane16 says:

    She’s right about feminism. The younger generations, or 3rd Wave, have let it go. Sad but true.

    • Chris: now with 10% less negativity says:

      That’s because feminism is a social movement that flies in the face of the self centred “individualism” (consumerism) that’s embraced by so many people these days.

  63. can't she do something.. says:

    She has all the money in the world… can’t she do an extreme makeover that makes her look presentable? I mean, she is beyond scary looking. Imagine waking up at night and seeing her. First, get rid of the dark eye makeup.. second, change the hair color to a nice dark brown… three, maybe a shoulder length bob hairdo. Four, Gain some weight. Seriously, I feel for her.

  64. Chris: now with 10% less negativity says:

    My aunt has had “work” and she’s 68 and could pass for 48. So given Donatella’s age and wealth it’s an indictment on her cosmetic surgeons that she looks that bad.

    She also needs major dental work. She can’t even close her mouth with those buck teeth. Ugh!

  65. Crystal says:

    I love this woman and have mad respect for her hustle, the same way I respect Madonna’s hustle even though I’m not a fan.

    As for feminism ??? F*ck that shit. Sorry but, as a Black woman, I find that the older I get, the harder I find it to identify with the mainstream feminism movement. I have firm beliefs in equality and fighting for that and agree with a lot of the mentality. Unfortunately, a lot of their fighting and defending is just for heterosexual white women, then lesbian white women, and… that’s who mostly matters.

    I’ve said it on here before in the ‘Girls’ post but feminism has always been equality for white women first and woc have to wait their turn. Touch a white women’s hair and she’ll write a dissertation on the male gaze but she’ll touch a black womens hair, call it nappy, and then say its fine because as women they suffer together. Where are all these so called feminists when Michelle Obama is getting attacked by the media??…they have nothing to say then do they ???
    I started to identify with womanism when the white feminists on campus made anti-black and homophobic(I’m bi) remarks at me. I mean tbh any movement with white people on the forefront is trouble some because they pretty much forget about the rest of us. The same can be said of the gay ‘community’…I have a lot of feelings.

    As for women supporting each other. Well…on one hand I actually agree that females in high positions should actively support each other, in order to open the door for more women. But I don’t judge women who don’t because I understand that being a token female under patriarchy gets you lots of pats on the head from menfolk, and is a legitimate climbing strategy as well (it just has a glass ceiling). The only way to fully achieve equal status with men is to support other women and act together. On the other hand I think we can be quite supportive of each other and the whole ‘women are catty and jealous blah blah blah’ thing is another form of misogyny. Whenever we do support one another it gets overlooked because it doesn’t back up the idea that women are ‘catty bitches’. People here are mentioning Celebitchy as an example of how we nitpick at each other but do any of you bother to read the vile, disgusting comments written by men on The Superficial or Dlisted or Huffington Post? They rip into folks like Robert Pattinson, Trey Songz and of course Justin Bieber (Justin Bieber jokes write themselves tbh) yet noone ever calls them jealous (which they are) or catty. They’re allowed to give their opinion no matter how rude it is but if a female says something bad about another female people always chalk it up to jealousy. Look at the careers of Beyonce, Madonna, Rihanna…pretty much most female artists. We’re the ones that buy their music and watch their shows. Not men. Twilight is a crock of shit but the success of the movies and the books(fronted by a woman) are a testament to the fact that we do support each other. The media would rather focus on the female feuds (Janet vs Madonna) as oppose to the female friendships out there(Meryl Streep and Viola Davis) because then people can go on and on about how ‘unsupportive’ we are of each other. I won’t support someone just because they have a vagina (Kim K) or because they’re the same race as me (Tyler Perry)

    I had an argument on the internet recently because someone dissed Kaiser and complained that she was a catty bitch yet I know for a fact that, for as funny as Michael K is, Kaiser could never get away with saying half the shit he says. She’d be ripped to pieces but because he’s a guy, he gets away with being catty because it’s his ‘opinion’. Please. Men are just as unsupportive and mean but noone brings that shit up. It’s always women and it’s getting annoying.

    • mayamae says:

      Actually I did defend Michelle Obama as well as several other posters. It was in a Kate Middleton thread from today. Take a look if you get a chance.

    • Chris: now with 10% less negativity says:

      So Michelle Obama should be above criticism because she’s a woman? Personally I get sick of people banging on about how women and minorities are under represented at the big end of town, because the reality is most us are never going to reach the upper-echelons of society. The focus should be on making sure women have across the board wage equality with men and that minority groups aren’t over represented in prisons and under represented in colleges.

      • Crystal says:

        What is this comment? I can’t. No Michelle Obama is not above criticism but the fact is, if she was a white woman who was constantly being attacked in the media, other women would publicly support her and question this. Any little criticism of Hilary Clinton is always fucking dissected by other feminists and they blame it on sexism but who’s out there speaking up for Michelle ??? That’s what I though.

        ‘Personally I get sick of people banging on about how women and minorities are under represented at the big end of town…’

        Be sick of it then. I give zero fucks about what you’re sick of.

        ‘because the reality is most us are never going to reach the upper-echelons of society.’
        Speak for yourself, honey.

        ‘The focus should be on making sure women have across the board wage equality with men ‘

        Yes and this is the focus but when feminists think about women they’re always thinking about white women first. That’s my problem. And we can walk and chew gum at the same time. The focus doesn’t have to JUST be equal wages. We can focus on that aswell as focusing female representation in the media and all of the oversexualised popstars with their vagina’s hanging out.

        I swear you’re like those white people who say people should only focus on ‘real racism’.

      • Chris: now with 10% less negativity says:

        “What is this comment? I can’t. No Michelle Obama is not above criticism but the fact is, if she was a white woman who was constantly being attacked in the media, other women would publicly support her and question this. Any little criticism of Hilary Clinton is always fucking dissected by other feminists and they blame it on sexism but who’s out there speaking up for Michelle ???”

        Um people like yourself.

        “Be sick of it then. I give zero fucks about what you’re sick of.”

        Way to win hearts and minds

        “Speak for yourself, honey.”

        Statically speaking 90% of the population, regardless of sex or race, won’t join the top 10% wealthiest members of society.

        “Yes and this is the focus but when feminists think about women they’re always thinking about white women first.”

        Generalization much?

      • Crystal says:

        @ Chris

        Generalisation ??? No honey. That’s the truth but all your privilege is blinding you from seeing it. Go out there and speak to some woc and you’ll se that a lot of them feel the same way. Feminists never gave a f*ck about us, it was all about white women. Still is tbh. Sorry it hurts to hear the truth.

        And yes I am speaking up for Michelle but I wasn’t talking about internet commenters was I? I’m talking about other women in the media speaking up for her. Seriously.

        Ugh. There’s nothing left to say. You probably believe in ‘reverse racism’ too huh ??

      • Chris: now with 10% less negativity says:

        if by reverse racism you’re asking me if I think it’s possible for people who aren’t.’t white to be racist towards people who are white then obviously the answer is yes. But I’d just call that racism. There’s nothing reverse about it. There was a high percentage of Muslim Arabs at my step daughter’s high school and she used to tell me that some of them would make racist remarks about Anglos . My advice to her was that if they directed racial slurs at her that she should maintain the moral high ground and condem them for being racist rather than trading racial slurs with them.

      • Crystal says:

        @Chris

        It was actually a rhetorical question because I knew the answer would be nothing short of amusing. I wasn’t wrong. LOL.

        ‘people who aren’t. white to be racist towards people who are white then obviously the answer is yes.’

        The answer is yes. Really ???

        ‘racist remarks against Anglos’

        Funniest shit I’ve read all day. Thanks for that. I’m sure you also think ‘cracker’ holds the same weight as the N-word. You enjoy the rest of your day bb, I’m not really sure what else I could possibly say to someone who believes we can be racist to white people. Buh-bye.

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Hbk0TWAS

    • original lucy says:

      I agree with a lot of the things you have said Crystal…I truly wish that ALL women would stand behind each other…I work at a Walmart and work with women that are white, black, hispanic, asian, gay, etc. Believe me, no where in the world is there more diversity than in a Walmart employee’s breakroom. The one thing I see over and over again is the strength of women, ALL women…Ususally we are the main caregivers and breadwinners for our families, taking care of small children, adult children, and aging parents, and no man in sight to help. I have witnessed first hand, women who help other women in need,regardless of any superficial differences…someone has no money for gas and is given another lady’s last $10 so that they can get to work, to make money to feed their children…we share our childens hand-me-downs or someone else’s lunch, its my day off and you have to work, but have no babysitter, I will watch your children, cause I know the feeling of not being able to buy groceries,because my pay is less, because I missed work,…these are our stories…please don’t look at the press and hollywood or even Washington to evaluate what real women are like…I work with real women everyday, all colors, sexual orientation, religiions. We are all just trying to survive…and sticking together is what gets us through…

    • RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

      I really dont care either way…..you sound truly pissed and thats great. Im gonna step back and let you blow your steam but, just wanted to point out to you…..you said “Im not going to support someone just because they have a vagina.”
      You see, women need to really open their eyes and realize this is the ONE fundamental difference between us and men. You see, men WILL support eachother whole heartedly just BECAUSE they ALL have big swingin di&ks at the table. Its the TRUTH. and women really need to get that. They tend to generally act in unison simplely because their all male. Even if they dont like eachother. I know. I work in nyc and Ive watched it in action countless times. Women operate on a more individual basis even though men complain that we gang up together …the truth is we really dont.
      just remember…..big swingin di*ks stick together. thats men. not women. truth.

      • Crystal says:

        LOL. I sound pissed ??? Ok if you say so.

        Sorry but I disagree with the whole men being supprotive all the time. Men always have other men AND women on their side in order to be successful. Look at the guys of Jersey Shore. They’re famous because of other women not men. Men don’t need other men to be successful because women support them too. Unlike us women who only have ourselves to count on. If men don’t support each other then they can always count on women to support them. They have that option. Women don’t. If women weren’t out there buying Beyonce records then she wouldn’t have a career, period. She sure as hell wouldn’t be able to count on men to buy ‘Single Ladies’. Unlike Justin Bieber, Usher, Trey Songz, Justin Timberlake…dudes aren’t buying their shit. But that’s ok because they can just market themselves to women. Which women have that luxury??? You have a bunch of female popstars and actresses half naked but they can still only count on other women to buy their products.
        Men do not support each other just because they have dicks tbh. They don’t have to because they have women as a back up. What is it that us women do that men buy into ??? Look at ‘Sucker Punch’…they focused on male gaze and all these girls had their tits and ass out in order to get the male audience and look at how bad it flopped. Why ??? because without the female audience, female fronted films don’t stand a f*cking chance. Now look at the success of The Avengers. That movie had both genders on its side. A movie doesn’t make billions of dollars with the just the male audience does it ???
        No men don’t support each other unconditionally because they don’t need to. They got women on their side too, us women dn’t have that.

        The same can be said for things Black people put out. Black people need each other because white people don’t buy our shit. Without the black audience, Tyler Perry would still be begging for money outside his church. White people don’t support each other unconditionally and that’s all good because they have a bunch of other races to buy their shit. Minorities don’t have that advantage. Black people support black people. EVERYBODY supports white people. There is the difference. Women support women, EVERYBODY supports men.

        Find a lie in what I just said.

      • RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

        I respectfully disagree with you. Men do need men to get ahead in the world….they wouldnt call it the old boys club if it didnt exist.
        As well, your really really off base about white people not buying black stuff. I dont know what planet your on but maybe you dont live in NYC…..Im white and Ive bought everything from Beyonce to richard pryor to famous Amos is even my favorite cookie. You have a warped view of what white buy and dont buy. Your back about 40 years hun. This is the new century and white poeple do in fact buy stuff black people put out. Jeez cant believe were having this convo in this day and age.

    • Lukie says:

      @Crystal: Audre Lorde would be proud 🙂

      • Crystal says:

        I took that as a compliment though I’m not sure if you were being sarcastic. I’m a fan of hers so :/

  66. sauvage says:

    I am dead sure that Donatella said panini, not paninis. Other than that, nothing to criticise.

  67. original lucy says:

    Dear Celebitchy…next time you post a picture of DV, please put a black bar over that face…I was trembling under my bedcovers for more than an hour, before I had the strength to get back on my computer…

  68. LilySqueal says:

    Holy crap.

    The headline is about feminism which could lead to a really interesting discussion and the first thing most people do is bash her looks?

    Real classy.

  69. Yup, Me says:

    Thank you for posting this. I love wild and crazy and fierce women and I never realized DV was one of them. She makes me think of how Cher once said in an interview If I want to put my tits on my back, it’s nobody s business. I’d have a glass of champagne with both of them.

  70. Carolyn says:

    Versace as a label has not been anywhere near as good as when Gianni was at the helm and all those gorgeous Supermodels wore his wears (Helena! Cindy! Christie! Claudia! etc etc). Admire Donatella’s ability to keep going. Don’t care what she looks like or says. Can’t imagine what having a brother murdered, the suspect killed and the case closed does to a family. Unless they really were money & drug laundering after all and they didn’t want their “business” affairs exposed.

  71. DavidBowie says:

    I’m gonna have nightmares tonight.

  72. trh says:

    Thank you, Kaiser. I heart Donatella Versace!!! She is a trooper.

  73. RHONYC says:

    her nostrils seems so tiny! i’d be afraid of suffocation during the night. egads! 🙁

  74. Dana says:

    Donatella is one fugly broad. See money can’t buy everything.

  75. muppet_barbershop says:

    I’ve always been visually horrified by her, but I did find myself liking her against my will when reading this interview. Unless there’s equal pay for equal work in Italy, feminism can’t really be dead there; but I know what she means about being a feminist and bemoaning its current dead appearance. She seems pretty badass.