No ‘springtime for Hitler’ in NY as Met cancels hate

With the Metropolitan Museum of Art facing a torrent of criticism for its decision to honor a self-proclaimed Hitler-lover and Jew-denigrater, a planned exhibition of the work of British fashion designer John Galliano at the Met Gala in May 2027 was cancelled on Monday.

“John Galliano: Horizons” was to form the basis of the prestigious gala, which was scheduled for Monday, May 3, the same night that Yom HaShoah begins.

Galliano was convicted in Paris in 2011 of “public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity.”

He was fired by Dior in 2011 after a video surfaced in which he said, “I love Hitler,” and told people at a Paris bar that their ancestors “would all be [explative] gassed” in the Holocaust.

He was also filmed insulting a woman’s “ugly Jewish face” and telling the man with her, “[explative] Asian bastard, I will kill you.”

 Galliano has since apologized and said that he was struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction at the time.

The exhibit, announced on July 31, was to examine his four-decade career and promised to all address the conduct that led to his downfall. It was reported that Galliano would have been only the third living designer to receive a solo Costume Institute exhibition.

In a story featured prominently in its Sunday print edition, the NY Times helped fuel growing outrage at the Met’s decision to honor Galliano.

In a front-page article, headlined “Furor Builds Over Met’s Plan to Honor Designer; Critics Cite Galliano’s Antisemitic Tirades,” the newspaper reported allegations of antisemitic outbursts several years after the 2011 incidents and after he apologized.

The Times related a 2019 incident posted to Facebook on Aug. 1 by Lauren London, a fashion publicist.

London described an encounter at the alcohol-free Henri Chenot spa in Merano, Italy as she sat in a common area with her friend Sabine Cimber Goldberg.

“Goldberg was on the phone with her daughter. Galliano was sitting nearby. When Goldberg switched from speaking English to Hebrew, Galliano began shouting ‘Merry Christmas!’ over and over again, London said,” the Times reported.

“Her friend asked Galliano if he had a problem with her speaking Hebrew, and he said he did,” London told the Times.

London told the newspaper that she posted on Facebook “because that’s what’s so troublesome: I kept reading that the Met is going to call attention to his antisemitic remarks, as if it was some sort of footnote, this little part of him that’s been cured. And from what I saw, that is not the case.”

The Times said Goldberg confirmed the 2019 incident and added, “I was in shock. I was on a video call with my daughter.”

Goldberg’s daughter, Kelly Goldberg, confirmed to the newspaper that she heard part of Galliano’s rant.

Julie Menin, the first Jewish speaker of the NY City Council, stated on Monday that “after my numerous and lengthy meetings and conversations with the Met, I am pleased that they have agreed to not honor John Galliano.”

 Honoring Galliano at this time of rising antisemitism “served as a gut punch to the Jewish community,” she said. Cancelling his exhibit is “the correct decision, as the harm and pain this was causing was simply unacceptable.”

 Anna Wintour, global editorial director of Vogue and longtime chair of the Met Gala, said that the decision not to proceed was Galliano’s.

“There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale than John Galliano,” Wintour said. After the cancellation, she stood by Galliano.