The John Galliano 2027 Met Gala has been canceled

By Leah Dolan, CNN

(CNN) — John Galliano, the controversial British designer, will no longer be the subject of an exhibit linked to the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the museum said in a statement Monday.

The move comes after a growing outcry over the decision by the museum and Anna Wintour, global editorial director of Vogue, to honor the designer at the Met Gala. Galliano was fired from Dior in 2011 and found guilty of “public insults” based on origin, religion, race or ethnicity after videos emerged of the designer saying “I love Hitler” and ranting antisemitic abuse at a café in Paris. The Met Gala, which is held on the first Monday in May, would fall next year on Yom HaShoah, a day of Holocaust remembrance.

“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 wrote in a statement released Monday. “I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry.” Galliano did “not want the debate surrounding me to place the Met in a difficult position or to distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute,” the statement continued.

Andrew Bolton, the curator of the Met’s Costume Institute, said in a statement issued by the museum that he recognized “the pain and concern this exhibition has caused.” He continued: “After extensive discussion, I support the decision not to proceed.” Wintour, who is also chief content officer at Condé Nast and has spearheaded the organization of the Met Gala since 1995, said that Galliano’s decision to pull out of the showcase was “very courageous and a measure of the man he is.”

“I believe this is the right decision,” Wintour said.

“John Galliano: Horizons” was supposed to “consider how artistic achievement should be understood alongside ethical accountability,” read a press release from the museum announcing the exhibit just a few weeks ago. But the decision sparked outrage, particularly outside of the fashion industry, and trustees as well as members of the museum’s board were “scrambling to do damage control,” the New York Times reported this weekend, ahead of the Monday announcement.

This is not the first time the Met Gala has been at the center of controversy. When the late Karl Lagerfeld was announced as the subject for the Costume Institute exhibition in 2023, his problematic comments disparaging the #MeToo movement, refugees and plus-sized bodies were resurfaced as evidence against his celebration. Earlier this year, the Met Gala faced another torrent of backlash when it was announced that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos would be the main benefactors of the event. The news was met with calls for boycotts, and alternative events were staged around New York City, highlighting the safety issues at Amazon warehouses and growing wealth inequality.

Galliano, whose designs have achieved cult status in the industry and are often lauded for their theatricality and detail, would have been just the third living fashion designer awarded a Met retrospective, after Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in 2017 and Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

“Does he deserve it as a person? Questionable,” said Dana Thomas, who wrote the 2015 biography “Gods and Kings” about Galliano and Alexander McQueen. “Does he deserve it as a designer? Absolutely.” Thomas also underscored the professional risk Bolton faced by staging the Galliano exhibition in the first place: “Nobody will ever take what he does seriously again if he doesn’t pull this off.”

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