Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana apologized in a video posted to YouTube amid fallout from a racist video promo created for their Chinese market. But the fashion duo’s “apology” means little if you’ve seen text messages sent by Gabbana shortly after the ad broke.
Says Dolce in the clip: “We have always been in love with China. We’ve visited it and seen many of its cities. We love your culture and we certainly have much to learn. That is why we are sorry if we made mistakes in the way we expressed ourselves.”
Here’s the promo ad for their show in Shanghai that started it all. The ad featured a Chinese model trying to eat various Italian food items — pizza, cannoli, spaghetti — with a set of chopsticks:
Dolce & Gabbana @dolcegabbana under fire for series of racist promo vids for upcoming fashion show in Shanghai. Vids are extremely condescending & mock the Chinese in how they use the chopsticks. They've been taken down on Weibo but are still on IG & Twitter
Eng subbed vid below pic.twitter.com/c8oRau21PS
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 18, 2018
The fallout was chronicled by the Chinese entertainment and gossip Twitter account ‘c-drama tweets’. Gabbana got into it with an Instagram user once complaints of racism started pouring in. In the alleged messages, Gabbana trashes China with the poop emoji, points out how dogs are eaten in China, and more.
[trending] Cnetz are furious after an IG user shared screencaps of his convo with @dolcegabbana co-founder #StefanoGabbana. After being told D&G’s recent vid for its Shanghai show was racist, Stefano fired back with insults like “China ignorant dirty smelling mafia” and more. pic.twitter.com/LOmeBAhRkr
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
Celebrity guests began pulling out as the controversy grew.
Chen Xuedong and Li Bingbing announce that they will not be attending tonight’s @dolcegabbana 'The Great Show' in Shanghai after outrage over Stefano Gabbana’s racist comments towards the Chinese. It’s being rumored that other guests will be pulling out as well.#陈学冬 #李冰冰
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
This prompted Gabbana to claim that his Instagram account was hacked and that he loves China and the Chinese culture..
Stefano Gabbana responds on Instagram stating that he wasn't the one who made the racist comments, and his account was hacked. He apologises for the fiasco but netizens aren't buying it stating that the series of racist videos have still not been addressed. pic.twitter.com/FcY93EgRFj
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi and models began pulling out of the show:
Zhang Ziyi fires back at the @dolcegabbana fiasco in latest weibo update – "Bringing disgrace upon yourself. D💩G "
Her attached image caption reads – "Your shit dropped, returning it to you."#章子怡 #zhangziyi pic.twitter.com/1hIouQCks0
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
Model #JinDachuan, who was scheduled to walk for @dolcegabbana’s ‘The Great Show' in Shanghai today, announces that he will not be going, and that he refuses to work with the brand going forward. He had previously walked a number of shows for D&G internationally.#金大川 pic.twitter.com/haffpou4qH
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
Chinese models who were scheduled to walk for @dolcegabbana’s ‘The Great Show' in Shanghai today mock Stefano Gabbana’s claim of being hacked by using the same “Not Me” text to announce their refusal to participate in the show pic.twitter.com/ttMuSWqmdn
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
It’s been revealed that the Chinese models at the @dolcegabbana ‘The Great Show’ were the first to boycott, as they collectively walked out of the show’s venue. Cnetz praise them for their courage, as they were putting their careers on the line (before things escalated). pic.twitter.com/JP9onT5Vpb
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
Then, the fashion show was cancelled and the brand’s Instagram page claimed it was hacked. Is anybody buying this?
After Chinese celebrities and models made their decision to boycott @dolcegabbana’s ‘The Great Show' in Shanghai today, the show has been officially canceled. D&G posts on Instagram that like Stefano Gabbana, they have been hacked and are working to sort through the issue. pic.twitter.com/f7VAwEFOtg
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
More models began dropping the brand.
Rising Chinese-French model #EstelleChen, who was one of four Chinese models to walk the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, shares her own letter to @dolcegabbana and Stefano Gabbana. #陈瑜 #chenyu pic.twitter.com/gx2zwpEoVj
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
#WangJunkai’s studio officially announces that they’ll be terminating all collaborations with @dolcegabbana, ending his role as D&G’s brand ambassador. They stated that a partnership is based on mutual respect of each other’s history & culture. #王俊凯 #karrywang pic.twitter.com/fp5Nn5kPJu
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
#Dilireba’s studio releases official statement saying they have notified @dolcegabbana that as of today, she will no longer be partnering with the brand. This would also indicate that she will end her role as D&G’s brand ambassador. #迪丽热巴 #dilireba #dilrabadilmurat #dilraba pic.twitter.com/XWEbmpbh48
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 21, 2018
Dolce & Gabbana then issued a statement containing no apology, but calling the cancellation of their show a “very unfortunate” thing:
— Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) November 21, 2018
Just to make things clear, the @dolcegabbana show was cancelled because of the RACIST messages by Stefano Gabbana, NOT just because of the series of vids. Apparently a no. of Western media have been incorrectly reporting it & making it look as if the Chinese are overly sensitive pic.twitter.com/a1EHgYaJ8h
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 22, 2018
Chinese retailers began dumping the brand:
[trending] Following the boycott against @dolcegabbana by celebrities & general public alike, T-Mall, Jindong, Suning and other e-retailers have removed all products by the fashion house. This means that there's no other online outlet selling in China, save for their own website pic.twitter.com/Jqte9rZLaQ
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 22, 2018
[trending] According to a weibo post, Stefano Gabbana purportedly replies once again to racist allegations – however this post can no longer be found on his IG account.
A netizen remarks – "Soon he's going to say they're not racist because they sell products to the Chinese." pic.twitter.com/50UO508X1U
— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) November 22, 2018
It’s far from the first time the gay fashion duo have offended.
You may recall that in 2015 they gave an interview to the Italian magazine Panorama in which they indicated that “the only family is the traditional one” and that children born through in vitro fertilization were “synthetic” – views that naturally didn’t sit well with many. Months later, after a slew of celebrity boycotts, they apologized for their remarks.
And in 2006, Gabbana had made similar remarks to an Italian newspaper: “My dream is to have a baby, not to adopt one because I am not up to it and I don’t feel strong enough. I want my own child, a biological child, the fruit of my sperm, conceived through artificial insemination because it wouldn’t make sense for me to make love to a woman I don’t love. The person I love today is my partner so I am looking for a civilised and refined woman. A week ago I asked a dear friend of mine, who is twelve years younger than me, if she would help. I asked her ‘Would you like to be the mother of my child ?’ She was left a bit shocked and the following day telephoned and said she was still shocked but thought it was a great idea. I am opposed to the idea of a child growing up with two gay parents. A child needs a mother and a father. I could not imagine my childhood without my mother. I also believe that it is cruel to take a baby away from its mother.”
