PARIS — John Galliano’s accuser does not want the British designer to be “destroyed” over his alleged anti-Semitic tirade and said he does not believe the 50-year-old is a racist at heart, Le Parisien newspaper reported Thursday.
Galliano was fired by top fashion house Christian Dior after the complaint and the emergence of video in which he says, “I love Hitler.” He is facing charges in France for racist and anti-Semitic remarks that could see him spend six months behind bars.
The man who filed the complaint, named as Philippe, said a drunk Galliano sat down next to him and his friend in a Paris cafe.
“Right away he started to attack us by saying to my friend, ‘Your voice irritates me, you’re talking too loud.’ Then everything started happening. It went on for 45 minutes … He wanted to humiliate us,” he said.
The accuser said the remarks were anti-Semitic, but he believed “his words overtook his mind. I do not believe he is racist or anti-Semitic.”
“This whole story has really traumatized us … There has been … a media uproar around this story. For me, it was a simple dispute at a bar. John Galliano doesn’t deserve this. I don’t want him destroyed like that,” he said.
“Since all this happened, I’ve learned about his work, that he put diversity at the forefront and mixed cultures in his shows. I believe, above all, that he is very ill,” he said.
Galliano has apologized for his behavior, denied the accusations and countersued for defamation.