“I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments,” Oscar®-winner Natalie Portman said, so says the New York Times.
Portman is paid to hawk Miss Dior Cherie fragrancefor Dior, and until last Friday, the flamboyant Galliano was Dior‘s head designer.
Galliano was suspended for allegedly making anti-semitic insults at a Paris cafe. Then yesterday, The Sun introduced a phone video of more Galliano ranting, including a “I love Hitler,” statement.
“In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way,” Portman said in her statement. “I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.”
Three days after fashion king John Galliano was suspended by Dior for allegedly making anti-Semitic insults, a cell phone video was posted by The Sun with Galliano saying, among other things, that “I love Hitler.”
“People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be f—ing gassed,” Galliano says on the video. An off-camera woman asks Galliano, “Do you have a problem?” and the Dior designer says, “With you. You’re ugly.” There’s more, but you get the idea.
In France such statements are serious since they are considered “incitement to racial prejudice” with a half-year of jail time.
Galliano is reportedly confronting his three accusers today in Paris where his lawyer says that he has three witness statements of his own claiming that his client didn’t make the insults.
Of course that may be similar to the attorney who told a judge in Ireland that he could produce 40 witnesses who did not see his client kill the victim.
Video at www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3436757/Film-of-John-Gallianos-racist-rant-in-bar
John Cusack told his 200,000 twitter followers that “I AM FOR A SATANIC DEATH CULT CENTER AT FOX NEWS HQ AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICES ORDICK (of Dick?) ARMEY AND NEWT GINGRICH-and all the GOP WELFARE FREAKS.”
That John Cusack’s a fine actor isn’t in depute, but apparently like many activist stars he probably shouldn’t say much publicly without a script. And by the way, Cusack doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong.
Cusack isn’t apologizing because in his worldview you don’t walk back criticisms of the “depressing, corrupt, unlawful, and tragically absurd.” His enemies can’t be mistaken, they have to be evil. There is no downside to honest outrage. Cuss, threat, ad-hominem and wait for the applause.
You have no more arguments when you wish people you disagree, to visit death cultists.
That Cusack lives in a bubble is not surprising; it’s only troubling that the bubble he inhabits is so hateful. The other news is that The New York Times didn’t run the news, so maybe it didn’t really happen. Would Cusack have been ignored if his rant had come from the lunatic right?
Stone has taken controversial stands on other issues including his criticism of the “horrible” way that America treated Iran, after recently meeting with Iranian President Ahmadinejad. He has extravagantly praised Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and said that“there’s no pattern of censorship in (Venezuela),” while peddling his South of the Border documentary.
Oliver Stone may be selling tickets for his various projects, but even a true artist might realize that there are often unintended consequences with your art, even if you are on the left. Even if you’re as big as Mel Gibson.
