Racial slur trial starts for designer Galliano
Source: Agencies |
June 23, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
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FORMER Dior designer John Galliano went on trial yesterday for allegedly using anti-Semitic slurs in outbursts at a Paris cafe, but he told the court he remembers nothing because of his "triple addiction" - to alcohol and two drugs.
Charges that the outspoken British designer insulted several patrons of a Paris cafe with anti-Semitic remarks shocked the fashion world and cost Galliano his job at the renowned French high-fashion house.
Galliano's appearance at the one-day trial in Paris put him in the public eye for the first time in months. In a conservative look for him, Galliano was dressed in black with a polka dot neckerchief, sporting a pencil mustache and long hair.
Galliano is charged with "public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity" and could face up to six months in prison and US$32,175 in fines. The verdict is expected at a later date.
Journalists, including fashion writers, packed the wooden benches in the courtroom, which features a high ceiling painted with a woman holding the scales of justice. Television cameras were not allowed in the courtroom but trailed Galliano as he went inside.
The famed designer was escorted to a front-row seat in the wood-paneled, gilded courtroom at the Justice Palace, sitting next to an interpreter as he faced the three judges presiding over his fate.
Asked about the specifics of the evening of February 24, when he allegedly derided a couple with anti-Semitic insults, Galliano repeatedly said he remembered nothing.
"I have a triple addiction. I'm a recovering alcoholic and a recovering addict," he said when asked why his memory was blank. He said he started drinking in 2007 and became addicted to alcohol, barbiturates and sleeping pills.
After his detention by police in February, Galliano said, he underwent rehabilitation treatment in Arizona for two months and in Switzerland.
"After every creative high, I would crash and the alcohol helped me," he said, adding that his creativity "helped make Dior a billion-dollar business."
Asked why he didn't tell police investigators about his addictions, Galliano responded: "I was in denial. I was still taking those pills and alcohol, and I was in complete denial."
A couple contends that Galliano made anti-Semitic comments to them in the cafe in February. Galliano was taken in by police for questioning, and a sobriety test showed he was drunk at the time.
Another woman then came forward with similar claims about another incident in the same cafe in October.
Charges that the outspoken British designer insulted several patrons of a Paris cafe with anti-Semitic remarks shocked the fashion world and cost Galliano his job at the renowned French high-fashion house.
Galliano's appearance at the one-day trial in Paris put him in the public eye for the first time in months. In a conservative look for him, Galliano was dressed in black with a polka dot neckerchief, sporting a pencil mustache and long hair.
Galliano is charged with "public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity" and could face up to six months in prison and US$32,175 in fines. The verdict is expected at a later date.
Journalists, including fashion writers, packed the wooden benches in the courtroom, which features a high ceiling painted with a woman holding the scales of justice. Television cameras were not allowed in the courtroom but trailed Galliano as he went inside.
The famed designer was escorted to a front-row seat in the wood-paneled, gilded courtroom at the Justice Palace, sitting next to an interpreter as he faced the three judges presiding over his fate.
Asked about the specifics of the evening of February 24, when he allegedly derided a couple with anti-Semitic insults, Galliano repeatedly said he remembered nothing.
"I have a triple addiction. I'm a recovering alcoholic and a recovering addict," he said when asked why his memory was blank. He said he started drinking in 2007 and became addicted to alcohol, barbiturates and sleeping pills.
After his detention by police in February, Galliano said, he underwent rehabilitation treatment in Arizona for two months and in Switzerland.
"After every creative high, I would crash and the alcohol helped me," he said, adding that his creativity "helped make Dior a billion-dollar business."
Asked why he didn't tell police investigators about his addictions, Galliano responded: "I was in denial. I was still taking those pills and alcohol, and I was in complete denial."
A couple contends that Galliano made anti-Semitic comments to them in the cafe in February. Galliano was taken in by police for questioning, and a sobriety test showed he was drunk at the time.
Another woman then came forward with similar claims about another incident in the same cafe in October.
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