Galliano Gets His Day In Court

by Justin Fenner | 12:29 pm, May 12th, 2011

After months of being judged by the fashion community (and insult-hurling paparazzi), John Galliano finally knows when he’ll have to sit in front of a judge for his public insult trial. Galliano is scheduled to go to the High Court in Paris on June 22.

If you haven’t been following the story as obsessively as we have, Galliano was suspended from his job as Dior’s creative director and couturier after a couple accused him of yelling racist and anti-Semitic insults at them in front of a bar in Paris called La Perle. After a video surfaced of him saying, “I love Hitler” in Oct. 2010, Galliano was fired.

Since then he’s apologized for his actions, reportedly been to rehab to get the help he needs, been fired from the job of creative director at his eponymous label, fired his lawyer and had everyone from Diane von Furstenberg to Karl Lagerfeld debate whether the pressures of his job forced him into temporary madness.

The designer’s meltdown has already cost him his job and his reputation, and it could stand to cost him more. WWD reports that making fun of someone in France carries a heavy punishment.

The penalty in France for insult against people due to their origin, belonging or not belonging to a religion, race or ethnicity is six months imprisonment and a fine of 22,500 euros, or $31,271 at current exchange, according to the French prosecutor.

We’ll continue to follow the story and update as more news becomes available. Until then, how do you think Galliano will fare in court?

[WWD]

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