Has John Galliano Changed Tune on Anti-Semitism?
Image by Getty Images
The Anti-Defamation League said disgraced designer John Galliano has changed his beliefs and now understands the evils of anti-Semitism.
Galliano, who lost his job as the top designer at Christian Dior after he was arrested for making anti-Semitic statements at a Paris bar, had dedicated “significant” time to understanding anti-Semitism, the ADL’s National Director Abraham Foxman said in a statement Friday.
“Mr. Galliano has worked arduously in changing his worldview and dedicated a significant amount of time to researching, reading, and learning about the evils of anti-Semitism and bigotry,” Foxman said.
Galliano blamed his behavior, which included professing his love for Adolf Hitler, on addictions to drugs and alcohol. A French court later ruled he had made “public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity” in several incidents.
The ADL welcomed Galliano’s “recovery and redemption,” adding: “Along his journey to recovery he met with us on numerous occasions. He has accepted full responsibility for his previous remarks and understands that hurtful comments have no place in our society.”
The statement also welcomed an invitation by the designer Oscar de la Renta for Galliano to spend time in de la Renta’s studio.
“We wish him much success and look forward to working with him again in the near future as a spokesman against anti-Semitism, intolerance and bigotry,” the ADL said.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news the rest of 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Membership Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
