John Galliano is the new Mel Gibson. Only French English, and fancy, with a pirate mustache. Just FYI, in case you don’t know who John Galliano is – he’s the chief designer for the house of Christian Dior. He’s responsible for so many of the most exquisitely detailed gowns of the past two decades – like this one, one of my all-time favorites. But anyway…according to multiple sources, Galliano had some kind of Mel Gibson-esque breakdown in Paris last night when he started screaming at a couple outside of a café. He was screaming some anti-Semitic stuff, which kind of makes me wonder what is French for “oven-dodger” (one of Mel’s favorites, as told by Winona Ryder).
Designer John Galliano, who helms Christian Dior’s house, was briefly arrested in Paris on Thursday night for alleged assault and making anti-Semitic remarks, the AFP reports.
The incident occurred at a cafe in the Marais district where Galliano started yelling at a couple. A police source told the AFP, “For the moment we don’t know what led him to address the couple. We don’t yet know if they knew each other or not.”
Another police source told the Telegraph, “Witnesses said [Galliano] swore heavily, using anti-Jewish insults, before attacking a couple. Both have provided witness statements, as have a number of other people at the bar, including staff.”
Galliano was then taken back to the police station for a sobriety test and was determined to be slightly over the legal limit. According to Reuters, police accompanied him home and filed no charges, and, “One policeman said the outburst was prompted by stress ahead of fashion week, which starts next Monday and at which Dior’s show is always in the spotlight.”
Galliano was also in the spotlight this week after being announced as Kate Moss’ wedding dressmaker.
[From HuffPo]
I always forget that in some parts of the world, hate speech is against the law. So… is John Galliano some kind of horrible anti-Semite and no one has ever realized it before? Was he just drunk? Exhausted? Eh. I hate using alcohol or exhaustion as excuses for this kind of stupidity. You know what happens when I drink? I never make racial slurs. You know what happens when I’m really tired and stressed out? I never make racial slurs. So… is this just some isolated incident or are we going to find out that one of the most important designers in the world is a flaming anti-Semite?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
He looks like the peculiar purple pieman of porcupine creek.
Ya ta ta ta ta ta ta tah!
Holy crap!! If I were a man and looked like that I’d find someone to blame it on as well.
This is just sad 🙁
(Also – isn’t he British?)
“You know what happens when I drink? I never make racial slurs. You know what happens when I’m really tired and stressed out? I never make racial slurs.”
yeah, me neither. in vino veritas, and all that. people are good at hiding things like this until they’re under the influence and then the truth comes out.
If things like that come out of his mouth when he is only slightly over the legal limit, then methinks he has a problem. Oh, wait, the stress of Fashion Week. Nope, sorry. I could get fall-down drunk and have the stress of a hundred Fashion Weeks and that kind of nasty stuff still wouldn’t come out of my mouth. So yeah, I vote anti-Semite.
I just read in the french news that Dior has temporarily suspended him while waiting for further investigation.
Gwen – Yes, sorry about that! He’s English.
@Gwen, yeah, he’s British. I believe he was originally from Gibraltar.
On the rare occasions I drink too much, I don’t spout racial and religious slurs. I apparently love everyone.
Can I just say that I love that we are calling it “pulling a Mel Gibson” when someone goes on a racist rant. I hope he realizes that is is real legacy
i hate it when people blame it on the booze or drugs. if anything those things just let you be more uninhibited. they dont create racism or violence, those things were already inside if they come out.
In certain European countries hate speaches like this are against the law because millions of jews died a horrible death because of it, also in France.
It’s unacceptable, but anti semitism never went away, even shortly after the war.
I would be terrified if a drunken person, celeb or not, would come over to me and started to insult me for being jewish. As if you can’t sit there and have a latte because you’re jewish and he’s annoyed by it?
It’s strange that all of a sudden celebs are in the news for making these statements.
They could be using their problems as an excuse, but you’re right, there is no excuse, you’re either a hater or you’re not.
Who knows what prompted this. Obviously it was between him & the other couple. He wasn’t driving, so he certainly didn’t deserve to be drug off to the police station, did he?? Although…if he was dressed like this at the moment, he deserves to be behind bars.
I would like to know something about the circumstances surrounding the incident. What caused him to be so incredibly angry at this particular couple?
Being under the influence of alcohol/stress/sleep deprivation does not turn me into a bigot. Those feelings are real, and likely kept to himself at most times. Pretty sad and disturbing.
In french I think the term would be “Boulangerie evade”. If this is incorrect, appreciate some help from a Parisian cyber sister.
I find this story bizzare because I’ve heard Galliano speak French before and honestly he doesn’t speak it that well. The Marais is home to the Gay and Jewish quarters of Paris. Maybe he got into a rumble and said “sale juif” or somethig like that but I really don’t think he’s anti-semitic.
@liana – that’s funny because I’m the same. When I drink a bit too much ( very rare) I tend to love everyone! And I tell everyone so 😀
Eh, just checked French reports. Apparently he said in English: “Dirty jewish face, you should be dead” (Sale tête de juif, tu devrais être morte) et “Fucking Asian bastard, I will kill you” (Putain de bâtard asiatique, je vais te tuer).
This sounds awkward in English so I kinda believe he didn’t say that. Dior has suspended him anyway.
Here’s an eyewitness account, doesn’t sound so bad to me, he called the “Asian” after he was threatened with a chair…
http://www.sleek-mag.com/news/galliano-vs-style-police/#more-10389
When I drink, I need to try to make out with everyone – like EVERYONE. Or I’ll message everyone telling people I’m glad they love me.
Nice people seem to get nicer, if not messier, when they drink. Mean people get meaner.
Vodka didn’t make you do it, it just helps you release that side. John Galliano is a racist and I’m apparently a whore.
I have a hate speech all ready for that braid and Snidely Whiplash moustache, personally.
@raven sparrow… and it embarasses the hell out of my husband. LOL
Make him walk the plank….for his actions and his outfit.
Why can’t that be a law here in the US that anti-Semitic remarks mean up to six months in jail? Mel Gibson would be in jail where belongs.
When I’m drunk, I’m the sweetest thing on the planet.
and @ spinner – He didn’t get arrested because he was drunk. He verbally abused the couple, then assaulted them.
And sorry, but he is really unfortunate looking, isn’t he?
@Rita : the “bakery escaper” isn’t exactly an oven-dodger à la Mel Gibson but it does make for a funny non-racial slur in French!
Also, hate speech isn’t prohibited in itself in France. It’s a matter of the intention. In this case, the police probably had a hard time proving he was either advocating genocide or inciting to hatred against the Jews. However, should he repeat this offense, it could very well be argued he’s publicly inciting to hatred and put in front of a judge.
Look, I love Galliano’s work but this is not ok at all. It’s a particularly sensitive subject, especially for people whose family members were either extradited by the French government during the Second World War or those whose family was in the Résistance movement. You don’t need to be of Jewish origin to find racial slurs against them extremely offensive and hurtful.
@Raven Sparrow: 😀 A sister in disguise! We should go out on town together (I’ll be in Paris this weekend if anyone’s interested). I am a very private person when it comes to emotions and feelings but boy, after three to four glasses of red, I’m a public love speech giver. Je vous aime tous, etc.
@anotherdouche
Abridging free speech is the first thing an intolerant society does. Besides, I want bigots to shout out at the top of their lungs. That way I know where they are. Nothing worse than a quiet bigot.
@Bellatrix
God, do I wish I was in Paris this week-end. It might take a few glasses of red but we could have fun. Thanks.
@Rita – I totally agree.
Apparently he said to the couple who insulted him first “You’re ugly and you’re fucking bag is ugly too.”
Now that I can picture him saying 🙂
i also have been falling down drunk, very high, and/or extremely stressed out (including flying across the country to attend my father’s funeral right before finals week in college) and have never yelled racial slurs at anyone. ever. i’m tired of people using that as an excuse. galliano’s gowns are gorgeous, too bad he’s such a shit.
LOL@the French policeman attributing it to stress over Fashion Week. Only in France would police be tuned into that.
“John Galliano is a racist and I’m apparently a whore.”
holy crap, that made me laugh!
and Rita, I TOTALLY agree about free speech and bigots shouting it out.
@Roma
I’m with you. Mprior to getting married, I wanted to hug and kiss EVERYONE…Now my husband takes my phone because I text EVERYONE and tell them I love them etc…
Nothing wrong with it. There’s four types of drunks: silly, horny, angry, and sad. I’m a silly/horny drunk, which is better than a hate-spewing racist drunk.
@normades:“Apparently he said to the couple who insulted him first “You’re ugly and your fucking bag is ugly too.”
Now that I can picture him saying”
Ah, but was he talking about the girlfriend, or her actual purse?!
Anf I thought that NO photo could scare me more than Lindsay in her pink chenille bathrobe and duck lips. Wow, talk about fug. He looks like he smells bad.
@Tapioca: No he was insulting her purse.
Read the link that Freyja put up. It’s actually really funny. Sounds like a bitch fight that just got outta hand.
@Bellatrix
I wish! That sounds like so much fun. We’ll probably end up dancing on the table singing “que je t’aime, que je t’aime , que je t’aiiiiiime”! 😀
But I’m in Guadeloupe and it’s a loooong way to Paris! 😀
Vodka didn’t make you do it, it just helps you release that side. John Galliano is a racist and I’m apparently a whore.
**********
But such a NICE whore.
now comes the spin of all celebrity friends that will come forward to support him and say they never heard him use that language.
OK, so Mel Gibson’s drunken tirade is somehow more offensive and vile than this guy’s offensive vile drunken tirade. Oh, but he was drunk, poor stressed out thing. Fashion week is coming you know. Who could blame him? Is that the angle here?
Give me a break. The double standard is ridiculous. Enough already
What the hell is up with the fancy pirate look?!
Yep. He’s a flaming anti-Semite. Every single one of them, especially the least obvious ones, is scary and not to be taken lightly.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned how insanely full of AWESOME Ari’s comment was. Am I the only one feelin’ the love for the golden age of Strawberry Shortcake?
Anyway, Galliano is a douchetaster.
The NICEST of whores. Back in my drinking days I was known as quite the party kisser. My girl friends, my guy friends, strangers, a few hockey players, a couple of actors and some musicians. Everyone was fair game.
Maybe this is why my boyfriend always comes out with me now when I go drinking?
A report from Europe states that the couple were Arabs and that the man took offence to being called “Asian”. Arabs have long been trying to win rights under “antisemitism” laws because they claim they, too, are descendents from Shem. Bear in mind, it could have been a poorly translated article, but it did state that the couple were Arabs.
We really live in a screwed-up world when we get punished more for what we say than for what we do.
^Bobster, right on.
youd think that with all of the plastic surgery hes had done, he would fix that nose of his. i hate that when people dont fix the nose. it does not define you. you cant have the entire face stretched back and gross and then this huge honker. im talking to you, barbara, donatella, lea, and now john.
@Kris: I didn’t know the Kardashian Klan posted on CB. Now we know why Kim got her nose done.
Seriously, if someone chooses to leave their nose alone in a high-pressure, aesthetically focused world, I think they should be applauded. He’s a ethnic-hating douche, but let’s focus on the real reasons to dislike him-his nose.
No more Dior ANYTHING for me. Now, I challenge Rachel Zoe to boycott Dior. Can she “Ne jaime pas Le Dior?”
@normades:“Apparently he said to the couple who insulted him first “You’re ugly and your fucking bag is ugly too.”
LOL classic!
In related news, Galiano’s brother, the vampire, forecloses on the bank…
I just want to scrub him with steel wool because he looks incredibly gross, in my opinion.
“We had a table at La Perle and John Galliano sat next to us,” our eyewitness told us. “He spoke to a couple at a nearby table to say ‘Cheers’ and they insulted him. An argument started and the police came, so Galliano’s bodyguard suggested that they should go to the police station to sort it out. He wasn’t ‘busted’ aggressively by police, it was very quiet and peaceful. I definitely didn’t hear him say anything anti-Semitic, or against any religion, it was all very calm.”
Someone sitting next to him didn’t hear him say anything anti-Semitic, and yet people who weren’t even there hear that he did and jump to label and condemn him. That seems about right. I guess no one deserves the benefit of the doubt anymore, if you are rumored to be something awful (racist, anti-Semite)then you are.
I think y’all are too quick to jump to conclusions which is why I’m all over this post. Galliano has the same faults as all big wig designers (superficial, flakey, bitchy etc), but I really don’t think he’s a racist. It’s his word against theirs and what they said he said I just can’t picture coming out of his English mouth. It sounds like bad literal translations of what they think he said, but by other accounts say he said no such thing.
Alcohol isn’t a truth serum. That’s why they don’t get people to drink it before testifying in court. I also think that the nature of people’s insults often depends on who they’re addressing and in the heat of the moment people can say things just to be hurtful even if they don’t usually harbor the beliefs they’re expressing.
For all those defending Galliano: to be perfectly honest, Galliano was taken by the police and had to do a sobriety test at the station which is not necessarily a routine procedure in France. Try calling the 17 in France and get the police over. Of course, this was most likely the bar calling which makes it a little more serious but still, the Parisian police is usually busy with other things than a mere misunderstanding in the Marais.
Or I’ve only come across unwilling, lazy, wanna-have-a-café-and-croissant-break police men whenever I’ve called them in Paris (yep, more than just a couple of times).
This is what makes it a little less believable that it was just a silly, calm bitch-out.
We could be wrong of course. Or the eyewitness could simply cover up for Galliano for some reason. Or they didn’t witness all of it. Or they just don’t like foreigners either.
Or… they are right, perhaps!
We’ll have to wait it out and see how Dior reacts to this. They can’t suddenly mess the behind-the-scenes operations now the Paris Fashion Week is just some days away.
Also, there is a huge Dior and Galliano retrospective starting at the Bon Marché in Paris tomorrow. This is definitely not good publicity at all. They’re going to try and do anything possible to silence the whole affair down. They cannot afford negative opinions at the moment. Dior is one of the rare couture houses to have the Haute Couture label and thus super expensive show to run.
Believe me, fashion is not an innocent baby bitches cage fight. This is a real industry with some of the world’s biggest PR machines blowing in its sails (Hollywood is kindergarten compared to what the global fashion industry does).
Voilà, that’s all I had to say. Now, where’s that glass of wine of mine?
Je vous adore tous et toutes! Better?
@ Bellatrix: En fait j’ai rien à foutre de cette histoire mais je travail dans la mode à Paris et je ne crois vraiment pas qu’il est raciste.
@Raven Sparrow: Je suis super jalouse que tu est en Gaudaloupe. C trop beau la-bas.
Excuse my French (not my native language).
Gros bisous, Normades
BBC just reported:
“Pending the results of the inquiry, Christian Dior has suspended John Galliano from his responsibilities.”
wow… that was quick.
Dior said it had “zero tolerance towards any anti-Semitic or racist words or behaviour”.
The firm’s chief executive Sidney Toledano said in a statement: “Pending the results of the inquiry, Christian Dior has suspended John Galliano from his responsibilities.”
Well I’m not defending him at all but I do want to say that we don’t even know what happened before he was heard saying those things (yet again we don’t know for sure what he actually did say).
We have eyewitnesses saying he said what he did but no one witnessed what happened or what was said before? I doubt the guy just started insulting the couple for no reason even drunk. Something lit the fire but no one knows for sure who or how. Again, not defending but we don’t have all the details.
And if he did say racist things , well he’s just a sad human being.
Dior, btw, is being very tolerent zero and has suspended him till further investigations even though the fashion week is coming up. So I guess that’s a good point for them.
@Normades: nous voilà deux à être occupées par une profession dans le monde de la mode. Néanmoins, je m’en retire de plus en plus (je ne supporte pas Paris à long terme et ai commencé à me reconvertir dans le milieu de l’art). J’avoue ouvertement être une grande fan de tout ce que Galliano a fait pour Dior (des miracles grandement nécessaires et un esprit follement frais, si méthodiquement ancré dans l’approche folklorique). Néanmoins, mon amour pour son oeuvre ne m’aveugle pas entièrement. Il est possible qu’il ait dit tout cela. Et Dior ne laisse pas de place au doute bordé de fil blanc : ils ne prennent aucun risque vu la suspension immédiate.
People aren’t always the angels we wish them to be… No matter how well we think we know them, that’s a fact.
Dior suspending Galliano could mean two things. Either they are willing to do anything in order to distance themselves from this mini scandal until everything calms down in order to avoid controversy during Fashion Week (again, they have a good PR plan working for them at the moment with the free Dior and Galliano retrospective in one of our capital’s highest respected yet not too traditional boutique). Either they think this might have some substance to it and aren’t willing to risk their reputation for standing by Galliano.
OMG! I just read an article from the french Le Figaro and apparantly the guy went into a real hissy fit and though we still don’t know what started it here’s the rest of his rant I’ll translate for you :
(him screaming to the woman)
“Shut your mouth, you dirty whore!I can’t stand the sound of your (whorish) voice!You’re so ugly I can’t stand the vision of you!You have cheap boots, cheap thighs. You don’t have hair, your eyebrows are ugly, you’re disgusting, you’re nothing but a whore!” and he finished off by saying (screaming) “I am the designer John Gilliano!”
@Normades – oui la Guadeloupe c’est vraiment un petit bout de paradis! J’adore mais malheuresement je dois rentre en France en été. 🙁
Mais bon, à moi le sud de la France! Il me faut la mer, le soleil et la chaleur 🙂
Gros bisous!
no mention of the word “Jew” tho..
@RavenSparrow
Thanks for the translation. I didn’t read anything antisemitic or racist. For all we know, maybe he had a point. (Just trying to lighten up a day of way to political posts)
Our witnesses tell us that the couple who sat next to him at the bar didn’t recognized the celebrity designer and started to insult him, mistaking him for a bum when he tried to strike up a conversation with them (Galliano’s personal style could be at fault here).
On his joyful “cheers everybody!” the woman and her boyfriend replied “You’re ugly, you’re disgusting, move away from here!” as our eyewitnesses tell us.
Galliano didn’t react to this statement and raised his glass with other bar guests. He then turned around to respond to the lady, saying: “You’re ugly and you’re fucking bag is ugly too.”
Ok, did anyone else laugh picturing that little pirate of a man screaming out “I am the designer, John Galliano!”? Was that just me?
And did anyone else immediately follow that image up by shouting out a quick “NEELY O’HARA!!!!”, just for good measure? No? Just me? *darn*
PS I am also a whorey drunk and would like in on the love fest that’s happening on this thread. Whiskey and kisses for everyone! 🙂
@ Rita – Well, they did write that he said exactly what Normades mentioned in her post # 18 : “Apparently he said in English: “Dirty jewish face, you should be dead” (Sale tête de juif, tu devrais être morte) et “Fucking Asian bastard, I will kill you” (Putain de bâtard asiatique, je vais te tuer).”
What I translated is the rest of his reported rant.I’m sorry I didn’t make that clearer in my post.
Why couldn’t he have just said that? It would have been hilarious!
He looks like a good argument for why French mimes should never smoke meth.
@penguen im so glad someone felt the love it was the first thing to pop into my head because he is so ridiculous – same pompous attitude like a sideshow parody
What a superficial little man John Gallaino is.
I don’t know but I’d like to believe he was provoked. Not an excuse to be saying hurtful words but I don’t believe he would be attacking the couple just b/c he was drunk.
@RavenSparrow
Thanks much. So, apparently he doesn’t care for Asians either. He’s on Kaiser’s personal sh!t list now. I’m sure he doesn’t like Americans or Scandinavians either so that’s two against me but I don’t give a crap if he likes me or my heritage.
This is awful. I used to really like his stuff but I can’t support a flaming bigot.
ari, that was spot on and so funny! ya ta ta ta tah!
Wow, Raven Sparrow, thanks for posting that.
I would be really hurt and humiliated if John Galliano shouted that at me. It was quite the verbal assault… :O
@Skillo – that doesn’t sound like enough to get you arrested though does it? If the witness said it was all very calm, why would you go to the police station? That reeks of PR.
Meanwhile that blonde braid of his looks awful. He looks kind of dirty too… If I didn’t know he was Dior’s designer I would have thought he was a drugged out homeless man.
I agree with everyone who said drinks & drugs don’t turn you into a racist. It has to be there to begin with.
@ Bellatrix: Je ne suis qu’une simple modéliste, loin des paillettes et ce genre de drame 🙂
Galliano is now suing this couple for defamation of character and has written statements from 3 different witnesses who testify that he did not say anything racist or anti-semitic.
Galliano might be a little bitch, but I’ll say it again, I don’t think he’s a racist little bitch. Even if it was true, y’all are way too quick to judge!
Why is it that almost all fashion designers, those who are control freaks, adore dictating how women should look, are some of the most hideous beings on this planet?
I don’t care how many collections he has, there is no excuse to attack people in the street and go on an anti-semitic verbal rampage.
It’s a shame that many of us automatically believe the worst account. It sounds like Galliano was being friendly, and this couple was outrightly disgustingly rude and confrontational right off the bat.
There seems to be different stories on what he said, and I certainly wouldn’t believe a rude, ignorant couple doing their best to stir shit in the first place. I don’t even care for this man, but even I can see that there are a few lying, malevolent people in this world.
I hope Natalie Portman makes a statement. She strikes me as someone who likes to downplay her Jewishness and the fact that she’s from Israel. I’m Jewish, and she strikes me as one of those Jewish girls who desperately wants to be a WASP.
I think that a lot of posters are getting a bit mixed up with how the law works on hate speech. It does not prohibit Individual free speech, it stops incitement to racial, religous or homophobic hatred on a large scale. For example an Islamic extremist preaching to a large number of people about terrorist acts. Countries who have these laws are saying that freedom of speech ceases to be acceptable when it endangers peoples lives.
As ugly as Galliano’s words are, he is not going to be prosecuted fo this under these laws.
Galliano is now suing this couple for defamation of character and has written statements from 3 different witnesses who testify that he did not say anything racist or anti-semitic.
“Galliano might be a little bitch, but I’ll say it again, I don’t think he’s a racist little bitch. Even if it was true, y’all are way too quick to judge!”
Amen! and Thank You! Sometimes people jump on the condemnation train way to fast.
Galliano designs some gorgeous women’s clothes but WTF is that mess he’s got on? He looks like a drag queen.
They are also charging him with attempted moustache.
And here I was thinking that the Devil Incarnate would most certainly be wearing a mullet!