Diane Von Furstenberg has condemned disgraced designer John Galliano's alleged anti-Semitic rants as "unacceptable", although she's convinced her "fragile" friend was "provoked" into making the comments.
Galliano is facing trial for allegedly hurling racist insults at a couple in a Paris bar last week (24Feb11). A video showing him praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in another drunken bar rant emerged shortly after, prompting claims the designer is anti-Jew.
As a result of the drama and it's fall-out, Galliano was fired as head couturier at Christian Dior on Tuesday (01Mar11) - a decision that has split the fashion world.
Chanel boss Karl Lagerfeld slammed Galliano for bringing shame on the industry, while Sex & the City stylist Patricia Field expressed her support for the shamed star.
Now Von Furstenberg has waded into the scandal - she's disgusted by Galliano's offensive remarks, but admits she can't help but feel some sympathy for the disgraced designer.
In an interview on U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America on Thursday (03Mar11), she says, "It is a tragedy. First of all, let me tell you, I'm a Holocaust survivor; my mother, at the age of 20, was in a camp, so clearly, I cannot accept (his comments).
"I mean, the things that were said by him (are) completely, totally unacceptable.
"Having said that, John, as I know him, is a very sensitive, very fragile person, so I think he was to some degree provoked. I think he was laughed at and he appears... like, at least watching the tape, a child in a cage and trying to do, say things that he doesn't mean to defend himself.
"So definitely what he said is unacceptable, but I also know that he is a totally fragile, loving, wonderful artist and I think that to some degree, he was provoked."
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga, who strutted her stuff on the catwalk for Thierry Mugler's Paris Fashion Week show on Wednesday (02Mar11), is refusing to comment on the drama surrounding Galliano.
When asked by a CNN reporter to comment on the furore, she replies, "Let's skip that question. Let's keep it positive."
And there has been no comment so far from supermodel Kate Moss, who recently revealed she'd chosen Galliano to design her wedding dress for her July (11) nuptials.
Tagged in John Galliano Diane Von Furstenberg