Former Christian Dior designer John Galliano has apologised “unreservedly” for his comments following the emergence of a video in which he declared his love for Adolf Hitler.
The British couturier, who was arrested after a drunken argument in a smart Paris bistro last Thursday, during which he allegedly made antisemitic slurs to a female diner, is believed to have left France and checked into a rehabilitation facility today.
In the wake of the scandal another woman came forward and said she had experienced similar treatment from Mr Galliano last year.
Mr Galliano said: “Antisemitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologise for my behaviour in causing any offence.”
According to the New York Times, Mr Galliano will receive treatment at Arizona’s The Meadows clinic, where fashion names Kate Moss and Donatella Versace previously sought help.
Mr Galliano was fired yesterday after the face of Dior's Cherie perfume, Jerusalem-born actress Natalie Portman, said she would not be associated with him. Dior’s Jewish chief executive Sidney Toledano described Mr Galliano’s behaviour as “odious".
John Galliano's statement in full here