Amid backlash from political leaders, donors and Jewish activists for his past antisemitic behavior, designer John Galliano released a statement Monday expressing his desire for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to withdraw an exhibition in his honor, which was to be the centerpiece of next year’s Met Gala.
“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,” he wrote, thanking the exhibits curators and collaborators, including Anna Wintour, for the honor.
The decision follows a New York Times article published over the weekend highlighting the intense backlash to the Met’s decision to honor Galliano, who was convicted in 2011 of hate crimes in Paris, stemming from two antisemitic outbursts at bars, some of which was captured on video.
Those questioning the museum’s choice to honor Galliano include City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who called the exhibit a “serious mistake” in a letter to its organizers.
Elisha Wiesel, son of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and chairman of the humanitarian organization that bears his father’s name, also joined the call to reconsider the honor.
Galliano in his statement wrote, “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. I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.”
Menin responded in a statement expressing satisfaction over the outcome of the Met’s dilemma.
“After my numerous and lengthy meetings and conversations with the Met, I am pleased that they have agreed not to honor John Galliano,” she posted on Instagram.
Menin said that as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and the first Jewish person to hold her position, she felt a need to take a stand.
“From the beginning I have told them that I strongly disagreed with this decision, and at this riding time of antisemitism, it has served as a gut punch to the Jewish community.”
For the Yad Vashem USA Foundation, which supports the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, the museum still hasn’t done enough to right a wrong.
“The Met deserves no praise for abandoning an exhibition it never should have conceived,” that group said in a statement calling the matter a “moral failure.”
Galliano was recorded telling patrons in a Parisian bar “I love Hitler” in January 2011. The designer claimed he couldn’t recall that altercation, or a similar one that allegedly occurred months later, due to drug and alcohol addiction.
