John Galliano show at Met Gala canceled due to backlash over past antisemitic remarks

The designer’s anti-Jewish comments resurfaced after the exhibit was announced by the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City announced Monday that a show set to honor British designer John Galliano next year would no longer go forward as backlash grew over the 65-year-old’s past anti-Jewish and anti-Asian remarks.

Galliano’s work was set to be exhibited at next year’s Costume Institute spring show, which is launched by the Met Gala every May. But museum director Max Hollein announced that the institution and Galliano decided together not to proceed as anger grew over Galliano’s history of discriminatory remarks.

In 2011, Galliano was convicted of antisemitic abuse in France after berating a couple at a café in Paris. Galliano blamed the behavior on substance abuse, saying he was addicted to alcohol, barbiturates and sleeping pills. He testified in court that he had no recollection of the antisemitic verbal abuse.

Amid the uproar of the trial, video of another rant surfaced, showing Galliano telling patrons at a café that he loved Adolf Hitler and that their family would have been “gassed.”

The incident brought to light other episodes from Galliano.