Photo: Minirobot / Flickr

Christian Dior has fired designer John Galliano for ‘odious behaviour’. In a video doing the rounds on the web Galliano can be seen saying ‘I love Hitler’. Dior says it has a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards antisemitism.

Galliano – Your parents would have been gassed

Dior suspended Galliano after he was arrested in Paris last week for insulting a Jewish woman and her Asian partner in a trendy bar. Galliano denies the charges, and French detectives have no third-party witnesses. However, a damning video in which a drunken Galliano tells two women ‘I love Hitler. People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers would all be fucking gassed,’ was posted on the web Monday.

A second woman has since come forward complaining of similar antisemitism from Galliano in the same bar last October.

Dior – That’s just unacceptable

In a statement released by the fashion house, Dior says: ‘Because of the particularly odious character of the behaviour and comments made by John Galliano in a video made public on Monday, the Dior house decided to suspend him immediately and has engaged in a process to dismiss him.’

Portman disgusted, Armani sympathetic

Oscar winner Natalie Portman, the face of Miss Dior Cherie fragrance, told the press she was ‘deeply shocked and disgusted’. ‘As an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr Galliano in any way,’ she added.

Italian designer Giorgio Armani had a very different response to Galliano’s antisemitism. He said he ‘felt sorry’ for his fellow designer.

Galliano, who was set to unveil his 2011 autumn/winter collection on Friday, has not been charged by police. A source said: ‘We are going to evaluate the credibility of the accusations and Mr Galliano’s denials before deciding what action to take.’

Tags: designer