According to reports by the Associated Press, designer John Galliano, has been placed on suspension by Dior, as police investigate claims that he verbally assaulted a couple in a Paris bar with racial and religious slurs.
“The House of Dior declares with the greatest firmness its policy of zero tolerance with regard to any anti-Semitic or racist statement or attitude,” Dior boss Sidney Toledano said in a statement, “Pending the outcome of the police enquiry, Christian Dior has suspended John Galliano from all duties.”
Police reportedly detained Galliano, 50, for a short period of time on Thursday night in the capital’s fashionable Marais district after he allegedly verbally accosted a couple in a bar called The Pearl.
The designer's lawyer, Stephane Zerbib, told the Agence France Presse that Galliano “formally denies the accusations of anti-Semitism made against him. He is not at all in this state of mind and will explain later.” Zerbib added that “legal action will be taken against those making such accusations.”
As Dior's chief designer since 1999, Galliano was scheduled to present his latest collection for the house next Friday as part of Paris Fashion Week.
