{"id":43568,"date":"2021-09-01T10:17:56","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T14:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/what-did-dolce-gabbana-do-the-racist-sexist-homophobic-reasons-they-were-cancelled\/"},"modified":"2021-09-01T10:17:56","modified_gmt":"2021-09-01T14:17:56","slug":"what-did-dolce-gabbana-do-the-racist-sexist-homophobic-reasons-they-were-cancelled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/what-did-dolce-gabbana-do-the-racist-sexist-homophobic-reasons-they-were-cancelled\/","title":{"rendered":"What Did Dolce & Gabbana Do? The Racist, Sexist & Homophobic Reasons They Were Cancelled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Maybe even mother nature is canceling\u00a0<\/span>Dolce and Gabbana as hail rained down to close their\u00a0<\/span>Alta Sartoria\u00a0<\/span>fashion show in Venice, Italy\u00a0<\/span>on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dolce and Gabbana’s\u00a0<\/span>Alta Sartoria\u00a0fashion show was a\u00a0110-look show that left people screaming and running for the exit as their karma\u00a0literally fell from the sky in the form of heavy hail balls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, even this apocalyptic hailstorm didn’t cancel Dolce and Gabbana both metaphorically and realistically.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe it was just a glitch in the system that\u00a0mother nature tried to sabotage the Dolce show, however, it’s pretty obvious that the brand has some bad karma coming for them.<\/p>\n

What did Dolce and Gabbana do? Why is the brand being ‘canceled’<\/h2>\n

There are many reasons why Dolce and\u00a0Gabbana\u00a0have and should be canceled for their problematic past involving racism, fat-shaming, homophobia, and\u00a0delegitimizing\u00a0sexual harassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dolce and Gabbana made sexist ‘gang rape’ ads and claimed sexual harassment isn’t violence.\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Dolce and Gabbana have a whole list of bad things they have done and this might be at the start of the timeline. In 2007, Dolce and Gabbana shot an ad series in Spain which took the term “sex sells” to a whole other level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In one of the ads,\u00a0a woman in a Dolce and Gabbana dress was pinned down by the wrists of a male model straddling over her while a group of men watches.<\/p>\n

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RELATED:\u00a0Dolce & Gabbana Is Suing Diet Prada For Calling Out Anti-Asian Ads \u2014 Now The IG Account Is Fighting Back<\/strong><\/p>\n

It regained public attention in 2015 and ot soon after the ad was resurfaced, Gabbana made comments about sexual harassment, claiming it’s not violence.<\/p>\n

He told Vogue UK, \u201cIt\u2019s not new!\u201d Gabbana said before adding,\u00a0“It\u2019s not violence, this. Who doesn\u2019t do sex? Who doesn\u2019t? It\u2019s a trend. Now the trend is sex. But sex is an old story. We are Italian. We came from the Roman Empire. We know very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolce and Gabbana featured racist\u00a0Blackamoor prints\u00a0in their\u00a0Spring\/Summer 2013 collection.<\/h3>\n

In 2012,\u00a0Dolce and Gabbana’s Spring\/Summer 2013 collection hit the runway featuring\u00a0\u201cBlackamoor\u201d earrings and prints\u00a0referencing colonialism and the racist\u00a0\u201cMammy\u201d archetype.<\/p>\n

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There wasn\u2019t a single black model in Dolce & Gabbana\u2019s show and the print included what you might recognize as Aunt Jemima dolls\u00a0\u2014 a character derived from minstrel shows.<\/p>\n

D&G once again tried to defend themselves by saying the depictions were \u201celements of traditional Sicilian culture\u201d and the imagery was inspired by Sicilian artwork. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Clearly, Gabbana didn’t learn from that, as the year after\u00a0Gabbana was photographed\u00a0in a jungle-themed outfit with his arm around\u00a0designer Alessandro Dell’Acqua who wore\u00a0blackface\u00a0at a \u2018Disco Africa\u2019 Halloween Party.<\/p>\n

Dolce and Gabbana have a history of\u00a0anti-Asian\u00a0racism.<\/h3>\n

In 2012 Dolce and Gabbana forbid Hong Kong residents from taking photos outside or inside their flagship store to protect their \u201cintellectual property\u201d.<\/p>\n

This caused public outrage as foreign tourists and residents from mainland China were excluded from the photo ban.<\/p>\n

Their\u00a0problems didn’t stop there\u00a0as\u00a0in\u00a0April 2017, Dolce and Gabbana\u00a0posted a campaign on Weibo\u00a0that showed D&G models featured with impoverished people in run-down areas of Beijing.<\/p>\n

Then\u00a0in November 2018, they posted another series of social media posts on Weibo intended to promote\u00a0their\u00a02019 resort fashion show in Shanghai \u2014 #DGLovesChina.<\/p>\n

One video included Asian model, Zuo Ye,\u00a0struggling to eat traditional Italian food with chopsticks, which was deemed culturally insensitive.<\/p>\n

The video also included stereotypical Chinese music in the background, as the model struggled to eat a cannoli while the narrator asked, \u201cIs it too huge for you?\u201d and even mispronounced the brand\u2019s name, which mocked the way Chinese people say Dolce & Gabbana.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0The 7 Most Sexist C-Words To Stop Using Against Women Immediately<\/strong><\/p>\n

Things didn’t stop there as images arose from\u00a0Stefano Gabbana’s DM’S\u00a0insulted both China and Chinese people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The messages were screenshot and sent\u00a0to Diet Prada\u00a0where messages show\u00a0<\/span>Gabbana\u00a0defending the video campaign as \u201ca tribute,\u201d calling the racist accusations as \u201cfake news,\u201d and calling the Chinese people an \u201cIg<\/span>n<\/span>o<\/span>r<\/span>an<\/span>t<\/span>\u00a0D<\/span>i<\/span>rt<\/span>y<\/span>\u00a0S<\/span>m<\/span>e<\/span>ll<\/span>i<\/span>ng<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Ma<\/span>f<\/span>ia<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0w<\/span>h<\/span>o\u00a0<\/span>e<\/span>at<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>og<\/span>s<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

This resulted in a downward spiral for Dolce and Gabbana as\u00a0Gabbana claimed his account had been “hacked.”<\/p>\n

The official account for the brand also claimed, \u201cOur Instagram account has been hacked. So has the account of Stefano Gabbana. Our legal office is urgently investigating.”<\/p>\n

“We are very sorry for any distress caused by these unauthorized posts, comments, and direct messages. We have nothing but respect for China and the people of China.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Shanghai did not care for the apology of the alleged “hacking” as Dolce and Gabbana were forced to cancel the show. This started a wave\u00a0of backlash from many influencers and models, retailers in the Asian market and consumers.<\/p>\n

Soon after, Dolce and Gabbana made posted an apology video on YouTube in response\u00a0to their actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Celebrities Speaking Out On Anti-Asian Hate Crimes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dolce spoke out against IVF\u00a0in 2015.<\/h3>\n

Just before the 2007 advert that resurfaced in 2015, Dolce spoke out against\u00a0In Vitro Fertilization\u00a0in an\u00a0interview saying,\u00a0“You are born to a mother and a father. Or at least that’s how it should be.”<\/p>\n

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Soon after, he was criticized by the likes of Elton John,\u00a0who wrote\u00a0on Instagram, “How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic … And shame on you for wagging your judgemental [sic] little fingers at IVF – a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfill [sic] their dream of having children.”<\/p>\n

“Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana.”<\/p>\n

Dolce then apologized in Vogue,\u00a0blaming his strict Catholic upbringing\u00a0saying\u00a0“I’ve done some soul-searching. I’ve talked to Stefano a lot about this. I’ve realized that my words were inappropriate, and I apologize. They are just kids.”<\/p>\n

The following year, the designer brand released an\u00a0assortment of\u00a0family-themed novelty tees, depicting a range of parental pairings, which seemed like an\u00a0act of contrition.<\/p>\n

Dolce and Gabbana sold ‘Slave Sandals.’<\/h3>\n

If anyone thinks\u00a0Dolce and Gabbana will learn from their previous actions, then they need to think again as D&G once again blamed a racist fashion choice on their Italian Heritage.<\/p>\n

In their Spring 2016 collection, they released a\u00a0sandal titled “Slave Sandal” which was being sold for\u00a0$2,395. Once again, the duo used the excuse that they named the sandal based on their\u00a0Italian heritage, and after an\u00a0enormous backlash on social changed the name to\u00a0\u201cdecorative flat sandal.\u201d<\/p>\n

D&G released “Thin and gorgeous” sneakers.\u00a0<\/h3>\n

In April 2017, D&G posted on Instagram advertising their new sneaker which included a kitschy design with the words \u201cI\u2019m Thin & Gorgeous\u201d written across the side, as well as the words, “Sorry, I\u2019m the best\u201d and \u201cMore, more and more.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many people were\u00a0outraged by the words, and\u00a0according to Yahoo Style,\u00a0Claire Mysko, the CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association commented about the shoes, saying,\u00a0“There may be an element of cheeky humor at play in the design of these sneakers, equating thinness and beauty with success and status is a message that hurts everyone.”<\/p>\n

“When the prevailing message is thin is good, gorgeous is good, that becomes our priority, often at the expense of our health and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabbana once again mocked the hate for his designer shoe, writing on Instagram,\u00a0\u201cWhen idiocy distorts reality!!! incredibile!!!! [sic] Next time we\u2019ll write LOVE TO BE FAT AND FULL OF CHOLESTEROL. The most stupid post ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

D&G publicly\u00a0shamed\u00a0celebrities like Selena Gomez and Victoria Beckham.<\/h3>\n

Dolce and Gabbana have no shame in publicly bullying\u00a0celebrities.<\/p>\n

One of the most well-known incidents of this behavior was seen in June 2018, when Gabbana left a comment on\u00a0a\u00a0photo collage of Selena Gomez\u00a0that read, \u201c\u00e8 proprio brutta\u201d \u2014 which was roughly translated to \u201cshe\u2019s so ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to all the hate, Gabbana wrote on his\u00a0Instagram account, \u201cMY NAME IS SELENA!!! #saysorrytome\u201d and \u201cOmfg #pleasesaysorrytoselena.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Victoria Beckham was another celebrity who Gabbana bashed even though the two\u00a0used to be friends.<\/p>\n

In 2014, when\u00a0Gabbana was\u00a0featured in The Telegraph\u00a0commenting on\u00a0Beckham’s new fashion label saying, \u201cShe\u2019s a friend. She make a good job but\u2026 for us, she don\u2019t make the same way like a fashion designer. She\u2019s a fashion designer but it\u2019s another\u2026 it\u2019s different. John Galliano is a designer\u2026 Alexander McQueen.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Khloe Kardashian Says She \u2018Can’t Stand\u2019 People Who Eat Ice Cream & \u2018Complain About Being Fat\u2019 \u2014 After Years Of Slamming Her Fat-Shamers<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Megan Hatch is a writer at YourTango who covers zodiac, love and relationships, and pop culture.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n