John Galliano Apologizes in Statement

by StyleList Staff (Subscribe to StyleList Staff's posts)
Posted Mar 2nd 2011 at 12:15PM

Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

The following John Galliano statement has been issued:

"Since the events of last Thursday evening I have not been able to make any public comment on what took place based upon advice from my French lawyer. However, given the continuing delays at the French Prosecutor's Office I should make my position clear.

I completely deny the claims made against me and have fully co-operated with the Police investigation.

A number of independent witnesses have given evidence and have told the Police that I was subjected to verbal harassment and an unprovoked assault when an individual tried to hit me with a chair having taken violent exception to my look and my clothing. For these reasons I have commenced proceedings for defamation and the threats made against me.

However, I fully accept that the accusations made against me have greatly shocked and upset people.

I must take responsibility for the circumstances in which I found myself and for allowing myself to be seen to be behaving in the worst possible light. I only have myself to blame and I know that I must face up to my own failures and that I must work hard to gain people's understanding and compassion. To start this process I am seeking help and all I can hope for in time is to address the personal failure which led to these circumstances and try and earn people's forgiveness.

I have fought my entire life against prejudice, intolerance and discrimination having been subjected to it myself. In all my work my inspiration has been to unite people of every race, creed, religion and sexuality by celebrating their cultural and ethnic diversity through fashion. That remains my guiding light.

Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologise for my behaviour in causing any offence."

Read how the fashion world is responding to the Galliano scandal.

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Filed under: Fashion, News, Designers & Brands
Tags: christian dior, ChristianDior, john galliano, john galliano fired, john galliano statement, JohnGalliano, JohnGallianoFired, JohnGallianoStatement

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READER COMMENTS

(37)Add A Comment

George V. Williams, 3-02-2011, 1:08PM

Now let me get this straight. Mr. Galliano was verbally attacked for his mode of dress and comportment. He objected verbally, and his homophobic attacker trie to hit him with a chair. Since their ethnic/religious 'origins', shall we say, had been made clear during the attack, he fired back with slurs, and the world is demanding that HE APOLOGIZE?

Get a life. SOMEBODY here can just go to HELL, and it isn't Galliano.

Reply »

iamsprtkus, 3-02-2011, 1:58PM

it probably would have had more impact on the other people had they in fact even been jewish.. he just came up with that on his own. they were dirtbags, sure, just not jewish dirtbags.

D., 3-02-2011, 5:59PM

"I have fought my entire life against prejudice, intolerance and discrimination having been subjected to it myself. In all my work my inspiration has been to unite people of every race, creed, religion and sexuality by celebrating their cultural and ethnic diversity through fashion. That remains my guiding light.
Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologise for my behaviour in causing any offence." --

Ok! So I couldn't tell in his somewhat lengthy apology, but did he recant and say that he didn't love Hitler?

BLONDIE & GRUMPY, 3-02-2011, 7:45PM

Well said...

Moonfox, 3-02-2011, 2:13PM

Oh Puleeze! Everytime a politicial gets caught with his wingus in the wrong dingus, he apologizes for hurting his family,friends and is going to do everything possible to make amends.Everytime a crook gets caught,well not everytime but most, the apologizes and the excuses start including them all of a sudden becoming believers in God almighty and carrying their bibles to court for sentencing. The only thing all these examples have in common is that THEY ARE SORRY THEY GOT CAUGHT!Simple and straightforward.

Reply »

Susan, 3-02-2011, 2:54PM

Of Course H Is Sorry NOW! Ask any cop, almost all vile criminals are sorry after they are caught and outed. He has been threatened with losing his job.
NOW HE IS SORRY! Do you think that changes his views any? Of course not. He will just try not to voice them in public from now on!

Reply »

cristina popescu, 3-02-2011, 3:23PM

I'm well aware that no two people can possibly think or judge any given situation in the same way exactly...therefore I can only try and give my one thought in light of what happened;...As a woman of the world who travels,meets and knows all kinds of people of oh,so many cultures and races and tries to understand and love them all(along with their likes, dislikes and beliefs based on their own culture or race))...I can only say:let us all look deep in our hearts an ponder who is more to blame?...one artist being obviously under the influence or some young people trying clearly to mock,provoke and tape all that happened...?I would really like to see any of us commenting on this story(not to mention anybody famous for that matter)being under the influence,being provoked and not attacking back...afer all..unfortunatelly ,it is still in human nature to attack back while being attacked...if it were not so ..we would really live in a perfect world...I say we still have some way to go in order to get there...untill then,the truth will allways be in the middle!To make mistakes is human...to forgive is of divine nature...so why don't we try and BE that divinity we all strive to find someday,somehow and just FORGIVE,forget and go on with our lives while learning from our own mistakes first and then...from others mistakes as well?!!!....drink less,provoke less...LOVE,TOLERATE&UNDERSTAND more!!

Reply »

Anne, 3-02-2011, 5:37PM

Sorry, but I did not hear anyone attacking him, and I did not hear any of the women he was addressing his comments to, making fun of him. Its all on him.

cristinap305, 3-02-2011, 3:26PM

I'm well aware that no two people can possibly think or judge any
given situation in the same way exactly...therefore I can only try and
give my one thought in light of what happened;...As a woman of the
world who travels,meets and knows all kinds of people of oh,so many
cultures and races and tries to understand and love them all(along
with their likes, dislikes and beliefs based on their own culture or
race))...I can only say:let us all look deep in our hearts an ponder
who is more to blame?...one artist being obviously under the influence
or some young people trying clearly to mock,provoke and tape all that
happened...?I would really like to see any of us commenting on this
story(not to mention anybody famous for that matter)being under the
influence,being provoked and not attacking back...afer
all..unfortunatelly ,it is still in human nature to attack back while
being attacked...if it were not so ..we would really live in a perfect
world...I say we still have some way to go in order to get
there...untill then,the truth will allways be in the middle!To make
mistakes is human...to forgive is of divine nature...so why don't we
try and BE that divinity we all strive to find someday,somehow and
just FORGIVE,forget and go on with our lives while learning from our
own mistakes first and then...from others mistakes as
well?!!!....drink less,provoke less...LOVE,TOLERATE&UNDERSTAND more!!

Reply »

Facts, 3-02-2011, 3:47PM

What are we to make of the fact that the people he unloaded this vile antisemitic rant on weren't Jewish? How does their behavior, even if it was confrontational (which I don't know since I wasn't there) justify him assaulting an entire group of people who had nothing to do with the altercation?

Reply »

Raven, 3-02-2011, 3:52PM

This man is a pig! Everyone saw the video- he said what he said- he said the family members of those women should have been GASSED and that he LOVED Hilter! Mel Gibson, same thing- loosers all! What he said was clear to all who saw the video, he is a nasty, disgusting human being and should not be shown any more grace than Hilter himself. It you saw him with a shaved head and swastika tatoos, everyone would be up in arms but since he is some "fashion designer god" he can get away with it. HATE IS HATE- no matter who you are, he is just sad because he was caught. Nasty freak-rot in hell

Reply »

KJW, 3-02-2011, 4:54PM

I, in no way, condone what Mr. Galliano said but you also need to keep in mind that he was being provoked by persons who I am guessing from your "Nasty Freak" comment, are probably a lot like you.
Saying things you do not mean is very easy to do when your buttons have been pushed to their limits. Add too much drink to the mix and you have a fire.
You seem to me to be in the same catagory that you preach against,
"Nasty Freak"?? Sounds like hate to me. Perhaps you should take a look in the mirror.

And as for the person that commented about him sitting sipping his wine while saying these things... He could have thrown it in their faces, as I would have, minus the rant, and really caused a scene.

sherry, 3-02-2011, 8:17PM

No...he is a nasty freak just by how he dresses himself..if he wants to look like that Ok...I dont care who attacked who you can say f...off or many other things that do not make clear that he believes that the people in that bar and all of their families needed to be gassed...just cause someone offended him, ya you keep defending him...he's still a nasty freaky lookin guy

Bob, 3-02-2011, 3:55PM

I'm sorry, he is a stupid and ignorant person who pulled the trigger and now says he's sorry. Everyone knows if he wasn't caught on video being a prejudiced bigoted individual which translates into loss of earnings he would never admit to being wrong. Probably on the advise of counsel he apologized. Lets be real people. I hope every decent human being who comes into contact with him does to him what he wished on an entire race of people. Keep away from people like him. His true colors came out. Most likely his prejudiced feelings about race, religion and people in general extends way beyond his words. Anyone with integrity shouldn't have any dealings with him.

Reply »

E-NUF, 3-02-2011, 4:19PM

Another hypocrit drunk with a big mouth.
After they get jumped...I'm sorry...weep... weep.
They are sound like politicians now.

Reply »

k, 3-02-2011, 4:19PM

Apologize? You can't make up for stupidity. There's no cure and no excuse. Back into obscurity for Galliano.

Reply »

joan, 3-02-2011, 7:24PM

Thumbs up on what you say k. This apology is too late and it is amazing that he does this after being fired and hopefully no other fashion house on earth will hire this racist bigot.

Grf, 3-02-2011, 4:21PM

Alcohol only loosened his tongue. That is not his only problem. He needs to be educated on the history of WWII. How Hitler and his ideas effected many countries in his goal to eradicate Jews, Gypsies, handicapped and homosexuals and create a "master race"

Reply »

marina, 3-02-2011, 6:27PM

he is homosexual so wouldnt that be like a person of color calling himself the N word? i here that all the time and no one gets fired! he was drunk i have done some stupid things drunk most of us have!