Galliano Strikes Back: Defamation Lawsuit Filed Against Couple Who Alleged Anti-Semitism

Yesterday we reported that John Galliano was suspended from his job at Dior over allegations of antisemitic comments, but also that a witness challenged the veracity of the designer making antisemitic remarks in the first place.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Galliano has filed a defamation lawsuit against the couple making the allegations, and has provided three witness statements that support Galliano’s claim that he did not make any antisemitic remarks.

As we reported yesterday, in France racist comments are not seen as protected speech, but remarks that could be seen as damaging to a person’s reputation are not always protected either. In this situation it seems that both Galliano and the couple who’ve accused him of hurling defamatory insults have a case, though who wins will likely come down to what observers heard.

The witness who spoke to Sleek Magazine says that they heard Galliano refer to the man in the couple as Asian, and insult the woman’s handbag (that we can believe, but let’s not get the poor purse involved), but nothing about religion. If other observers corroborate that account, the couple could find themselves at fault for making allegations that have already done some damage to the designer’s reputation not just in theory, but in reality, as Galliano is suspended until the investigation is concluded.

Galliano’s attorney said that his client would be on the runway for the upcoming Dior Fall/Winter 2011 show, but no matter how brilliant the collection, it’s safe to say clothes won’t be the only thing on observers’ minds at the end of the show.