John Galliano-themed Met Gala is CANCELED after furious backlash over disgraced designer’s antisemitic rant
John Galliano’s 2027 Met Gala exhibition has been canceled amid ongoing backlash.
The controversial designer, 65, who made antisemitic and racist remarks in a Paris cafe in 2011, shared the news via Instagram on Monday morning, explaining that it was ‘best for the exhibition not to take place at this time.’
‘I am profoundly grateful to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and particular to Max Hollein, Andrew Bolton and Anna Wintour, for the extraordinary honor of proposing an exhibition devoted to my work,’ his statement read.
‘To have my creative journey considered by an institution that I have admired throughout my life moved me more deeply than I can express.’
‘I will remain forever grateful for the confidence, care and scholarship that Max, Andrew, Anna and the entire Met team brought to this project,’ the statement continued, in part.
‘After much reflection and discussion with all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time.’
Galliano’s announcement came after rumors erupted of a row between that those involved in the fashion fundraiser.
Religious leaders were said to be furious over the planned tribute to Galliano at the gala, per The New York Times.
John Galliano’s 2027 Met Gala exhibition has been canceled amid ongoing backlash
The controversial designer, 65, who made antisemitic and racist remarks in a Paris cafe in 2011, shared the news via Instagram on Monday morning, explaining that it was ‘best for the exhibition not to take place at this time’
Patrons have also reportedly threatened to rescind gifts.
In 2011, Galliano’s career imploded over a video filmed of him in 2010 at the Paris cafe La Perle in which he slurred insults at two women he thought were Jewish.
He later claimed that he was so drunk that he was unable to remember the encounter.
‘I love Hitler,’ he said as the women giggled. ‘People like you will be dead today. Your mothers, your forefathers would be f***ing gassed and f***ing dead.’
‘Do you have a problem?’ one of the women asked him from behind the camera, to which Galliano sneered: ‘With you? You’re ugly.’
As the footage went viral, Galliano was engulfed in a wave of public denunciations and was promptly jettisoned from Dior.
Afterwards, he issued an apology for ‘allowing myself to be seen to be behaving in the worst possible light.’
Galliano was later convicted in France of making racist and antisemitic remarks during two separate bibulous outings at La Perle, after which his Legion of Honor was rescinded and he was fired from his own self-named brand.
‘I am profoundly grateful to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and particular to Max Hollein, Andrew Bolton and Anna Wintour , for the extraordinary honor of proposing an exhibition devoted to my work,’ his statement read. He and Wintour are pictured together in 2021
In 2011, his career imploded over a video filmed of him in 2010 at the Paris cafe La Perle in which he slurred insults at two women he thought were Jewish. He’s seen in 2021
Galliano is pictured above next to Kim Kardashian at the 2024 Met Gala, celebrating ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’
In 2013, he found himself in hot water yet again when he surfaced wearing an outfit that resulted in allegations that he had dressed as a Hasidic Jew.
Galliano’s publicist Liz Rosenberg denied the allegations, maintaining that ‘John has worn big hats and long coats for many, many years’ and that the ‘last thing on John’s mind would be to do anything that would offend the Jewish community.’
He spent years making amends, apologizing and working with Jewish figures, and in 2014, he returned to the fashion world by joining fashion brand Maison Margiela.
His longtime close friend Kate Moss enlisted him to design her wedding dress in 2011, which also helped him make a comeback.
In his statement shared on Monday, Galliano also said that he ‘remains fully accountable’ for the hurt he had caused in the past to both the Jewish and Asian communities.
‘I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain sorry,’ his statement continued.
‘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.’
The new theme for the Gala has not yet been announced. Host Wintour is seen earlier this month
The designer also said he ‘recognized’ and ‘respected’ that the exhibition honoring his work would be ‘painful for some.’
The theme was announced earlier this month.
In Wintour’s initial announcement of the exhibition, she insisted that ‘his career isn’t defined by a moment’ and that the ‘darkness in John’s past’ would be addressed by the exhibition accompanying the event, via Vogue.
In addition to the theme’s controversy, the date of the gala also drew backlash.
The fashion fundraiser is due to be held on May 3 which is also Yom HaShoah, the Jewish day of Holocaust remembrance.
The Met Gala serves as a fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
The new theme for the Gala has not yet been announced.
