John Galliano Withdraws From Met Gala Exhibition Amid Mounting Backlash

Fashion designer John Galliano has canceled a planned exhibition in his honor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, bowing to a wave of criticism over his history of antisemitic and racist remarks.Mr. Galliano, 65, announced the decision in a statement posted to Instagram on Monday morning. The exhibition, which would have opened alongside next year’s Met Gala, was set to become one of the most high-profile tributes of the designer’s career.“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,” Mr. Galliano wrote in the statement shared on his Instagram page.He also expressed gratitude to the museum’s leadership, singling out director Max Hollein, Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, and Vogue’s Anna Wintour. “To have my creative journey considered by an institution that I have admired throughout my life moved me more deeply than I can express,” he wrote.Mr. Galliano acknowledged the pain his past conduct had caused. “I do not want the debate surrounding me to place the Met in a difficult position or distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute,” he said in his Instagram statement. “I also recognize and respect that an exhibition honoring my work would be painful for some.”The designer added that he “remains fully accountable” for his history. “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.”The controversy dates back to 2011, when a French tribunal convicted Mr. Galliano of making hateful remarks about Jews and Asians during two separate incidents at La Perle, a bar near his Paris home. Around the same time, a video surfaced showing him telling patrons, “I love Hitler,” and declaring that “your mothers, your forefathers” would all be “gassed.”The fallout was swift. Mr. Galliano was fired as creative director of Dior, a post he had held for 15 years. He later apologized and, following a stint in rehab and discussions with rabbis and the former head of the Anti-Defamation League rejoined the fashion world in 2014 as creative director of Maison Margiela.The planned exhibition would have made Mr. Galliano only the third living designer to receive a solo show at the Costume Institute, the Met’s fashion wing. Because the Met Gala traditionally serves as the opening night for the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, critics warned the arrangement risked appearing to celebrate the designer.Opposition intensified in the days before the cancellation. According to The New York Times, Jewish leaders spoke out, including art dealer Arne Glimcher, who threatened to cut the museum from his will, and City Council Speaker Julie Menin. In an interview with The Times, Mr. Menin, a Democrat, called the show “a gut punch to the Jewish community in our city, who are already reeling.”Donor Alice Tisch sent an email to Mr. Hollein describing the exhibition as a “whitewash” and “a failure of governance,” according to The Times, which reviewed the message.The date of the gala also drew objections. The event is scheduled for May 3, which coincides with Yom HaShoah, the Jewish day of Holocaust remembrance. The museum said in a statement that “information on a new spring Costume Institute exhibition and the 2027 Met Gala will be announced at a later date.”

John Galliano Withdraws From Met Gala Exhibition Amid Mounting Backlash

John Galliano Withdraws From Met Gala Exhibition Amid Mounting Backlash

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