Parsons The New School of Design has cancelled a master class by John Galliano because the fashion designer refused to hold a "frank discussion of his career," including the anti-Semitic rant that got him fired from Christian Dior.
The school sent an email Tuesday to students about the cancellation of the days-long workshop, “Show Me Emotion," noting the class planned to address how Galliano's “trajectory as a designer was changed by his offensive remarks and to learn from that example.”
In 2011, Galliano was fired from his job as Christian Dior’s creative director after a video of him making anti-Semitic comments and declaring “I love Hitler” went viral. He has since filed a lawsuit against his former employer over his dismissal. A French court found him guilty of anti-Semitic behavior and sentenced him to pay a total of 6,000 Euros ($8,400) in suspended fines.
New School, of which Parsons is a part, issued a statement Wednesday confirming details about the cancellation.
“An important element of the planned workshop with John Galliano was a candid conversation about the connection between his professional work and his actions in the world at large,” the school said. "Unfortunately, we could not reach consensus with Mr. Galliano on the conditions of this conversation, and the program could not move forward.”
A spokesman for Galliano did not immediately return a request seeking comment.