The Met Gala will no longer feature designer John Galliano during its spring 2027 exhibition event following major backlash to the Met’s decision to honor the antisemite.
Galliano rose to fame as the head designer for Dior from 1996 until 2011. That came crashing down when he was caught on video hurling antisemitic slurs at customers in a Paris cafe in 2010. During the tirade, he praised Hitler and told other cafe patrons that their ancestors should have been gassed, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
Galliano issued a lengthy statement on Monday explaining his decision to withdraw from the Met Gala, noting how he was “profoundly grateful” to the institution and for the opportunity.
“After much reflection and discussion with The Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time. I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it. I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time,” he said.
“I do not want the debate surrounding me to place The Met in a difficult position or to distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute. I also recognize and respect that an exhibition honoring my work would be painful for some,” Galliano continued.
The drama began on July 31 when it was announced that the spring exhibit would be titled “John Galliano: Horizons.” This was the third time a living designer was planned to be the focus of the show.
Former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour went out of her way to get a pardon for fashion designer John Galliano. Wintour, who is a trustee for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, met with Jewish leaders in an attempt to justify making Galliano the 2027 honoree of the Met Gala. She put in an extraordinary amount of effort to clear the designer’s name, which led to questions of whether the same effort would be put forth for someone who had used racist or “anti-transgender” slurs.
At the time, he blamed drug and alcohol addictions for his outburst. He was fired from Dior and fined, and his image was ruined.
Earlier this month, The New York Times published a report stating that Wintour, Galliano, and Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Met’s Costume Institute, had met with “influential rabbis and Jewish leaders” over the past year. Their goal was “to get their thoughts on the potential issues with next year’s planned fashion extravaganza — a show dedicated to Galliano’s work — and perhaps their blessing for it.”
Dana Thomas, author of the book “Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano,” wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that choosing Galliano as the honoree was a “very bad mistake.”
“The Met is attempting to tackle questions regarding cultural memory, accountability, rehabilitation and reputation. In the process, it is asserting the ability of powerful cultural institutions to decide when achievements of talent outweigh failures of morality,” she wrote at the time.
Thomas noted that the drunken tirade was not a one-time event, and said Galliano was known for saying terrible things for the entirety of his career.
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