Another day, another anti-Semitic tirade from a celebrity. This time, the culprit is John Galliano, fashion icon and (until about an hour ago) head designer of Christian Dior.

Galliano pulled a Mel Gibson last night at Paris’s trendy La Perle bar and restaurant, where he was arrested for hurling anti-Semitic taunts at a couple dining there. According to the London Telegraph, the 50-year-old mega-designer “swore heavily, using anti-Jewish insults, before attacking [the] couple.” (Making anti-Semitic remarks is illegal in France and punishable with up to six months in the slammer.)

There is no word on what led to the altercation and the celeb’s lawyers are denying accusations of anti-Semitism.

Antisemitism Notebook

Your weekly guide through the news and the noise of how rising antisemitism and disputes over how to address it are shaping American Jewish life.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Unsurprisingly (and in a smart PR move), Dior suspended Galliano pending the conclusion of an investigation into the incident. In a statement, Christian Dior Couture’s chairman and chief executive officer, Sidney Toledano, said that the company “has an unequivocal zero-tolerance policy regarding anti-Semitism and racism”

The arrest comes in the run-up to Paris fashion week, which is scheduled to start next Monday and at which Dior is one of the most high-profile shows.

We didn’t get an invite. Just sayin.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount