A month has passed since the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced its theme for the Met Gala 2027, and the backlash is growing louder rather than quieter. On July 31, it was announced that the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition would bear the title “John Galliano: Horizons” (TheColu.mn reported). So, of all people, Galliano, who 15 years ago sparked outrage with antisemitic remarks.
In the meantime, the museum apparently is considering a check on the gas pedal. As The New York Times reports, Met trustees and board members are discussing moving the gala date. The plan is currently May 3, 2027 — traditionally the world-renowned gala in New York City takes place on the first Monday in May. In this case, the date would fall on Yom HaShoah, the memorial day for Holocaust victims.
Donors Threaten to Pull Back
In recent days, “the resistance to the museum’s plans to honor Galliano has intensified among Jewish leaders in New York and beyond,” the report states. And further: “Donors have contacted Met officials and threatened to withdraw their donations should the exhibition proceed as planned.”
Pressure is also coming from city politics. Julie Menin, spokesperson for the New York City Council, has written an open letter to Anna Wintour and the museum. “Mr. Galliano’s long history of antisemitism, racism, and anti-Asian harassment is deeply troubling,” she wrote. “His conduct has been repeated and grave.” In a time when the city is experiencing a sharp rise in hate, she calls such a prominent honor “completely inappropriate.”
The Museum Pushes Back
Museum director Max Hollein spoke on Friday. “The Metropolitan Museum of Art tolerates no antisemitism, racism, or prejudice,” he told the Times. “We are in close contact with Jewish representatives and take concerns seriously. The leadership is working on a thoughtful plan for the exhibition and the gala next year that meets the moral and ethical standards of the institution.”
Anna Wintour, who has hosted the evening for decades, defended her choice vigorously. “No one in the fashion world deserves an exhibition of this magnitude more than John Galliano,” she said at the announcement. “He is a brilliant designer, and his career will not be defined by a single moment that he must live with for the rest of his life.” The show will “not shy away from any darkness in John’s past.”
Galliano fell hard—and returned
The scandal is captured on video. In December 2010, the intoxicated Dior creative director taunted people in a Paris café whom he believed to be Jewish. “I love Hitler,” he said. He also insulted a Frenchman of Asian descent as a “fucking Asian bastard.” Dior subsequently parted ways with him, and a French court convicted him of antisemitic and racist insults.
According to a report by The New York Times, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is facing growing pressure over plans to honor designer John Galliano with a nine-month exhibition, more than a decade after he was convicted in France over antisemitic outbursts.
Jewish leaders, donors pic.twitter.com/z9ttItVTwVShiri_Sabra (@sabra_the) August 30, 2026
The 1960-born-in-Gibraltar designer Galliano spent years rebuilding his career, apologized, and sought dialogue with Jewish representatives. In 2014, Maison Margiela brought him back; Kate Moss let him design her wedding dress, and in 2023 the documentary “High & Low” appeared. In the fashion world, he is once again widely regarded as a genius. After Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017, John Galliano would be only the third person in the design world to receive a Met exhibition devoted to him. (spot)
