Designer fired by Christian Dior for making anti-Semitic comments. By Eric Ditzian Natalie Portman Photo: Matt Carr/Getty Images A day after Natalie Portman avoided answering a reporter’s question about allegedly anti-Semitic remarks made by Christian Dior designer John Galliano, the newly minted Oscar winner released a statement condemning him. During a post-Oscar press conference on Sunday, a question about Galliano’s comments was cut off before Portman, who appears in ads for Miss Dior Cherie perfume, could answer. But after video surfaced the next day of Galliano expressing an admiration for Adolf Hitler, the 29-year-old actress announced late Monday that she would have not associate herself with the designer. “I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments that surfaced today,” she said in the statement. “In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way.” The video in question, obtained by Britain’s The Sun, reportedly shows Galliano at a bar in Paris in October. He appears intoxicated as he speaks to unseen patrons at a nearby table. “I love Hitler,” Galliano says. “Your mother, your forefathers would be f—ing gassed and f—ing dead.” Dior originally suspended Galliano for other, allegedly anti-Semitic remarks made during an argument at a bar in Paris last week. The designer was arrested and charged with assault and making anti-Semitic comments. On Tuesday, Dior officially fired Galliano, according to Women’s Wear Daily. “I condemn most firmly the statements made by John Galliano which are a total contradiction with the essential values that have always been defended by the House of Christian Dior,” Dior president Sidney Toledano said in a statement announcing the action. “I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful,” Portman added in her statement.
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Natalie Portman ‘Shocked And Disgusted’ By John Galliano’s Hitler Remarks
