Dolce & Gabbana Show Canceled In China After Accusations Of Racism Go Viral

Dolce & Gabbana’s “The Great Show,” set to take place in Shanghai, China, was called off just hours before it was supposed to start, reported E! News. According to multiple sources, the fashion designers have been accused of racism after several explicitly racist videos and comments went viral on social media.

Ahead of the show, the brand released a three-part video series called “Eating With Chopsticks,” which featured a model eating various Italian foods with chopsticks. The videos included a narrator giving instructions to the model in Chinese, such as “don’t attempt to use the chopsticks as knives.” A social media firestorm ensued after the release of the videos, with many internet users accusing the designers of publishing demeaning and racist videos that mocked the Chinese culture.

The videos were eventually taken down from the brand’s Weibo account but remained on their other social media accounts. Furthermore, private Instagram messages with Stefano Gabbana were reportedly leaked by Instagram account Diet Prada, in which the designer is seen blatantly insulting China.

Messages reading, “And from now on in all the interviews that I will do international I will say that the country of [poop emojis] is China,” and “China Ignorant Dirty Smelling Mafia” was included in a screenshot of the private conversation.

The Instagram account Diet Prada outed the designer brand, criticizing them for misappropriating Chinese culture and insulting the country of China. Included in the caption was, “Also, curious what the Chinese government will think of their country being called s**t basically…”

Gabbana has since denied that the messages came from him, claiming that his Instagram account had been hacked.

“My Instagram account has been hacked. My legal office is working on this. I love China and the Chinese Culture. I’m so sorry for what happened.”

The brand’s Instagram account also posted a similar message.

“Our Instagram account has been hacked. So has the account of Stefano Gabbana. Our legal office is urgently investigating. We are very sorry for any distress caused by these unauthorized posts, comments and direct messages. We have nothing but respect for China and the people of China. Dolce & Gabbana.”

Meanwhile, the fashion show has been postponed without mention of a rescheduled date. Twenty-four Asian models from China Bentley Modeling agency have since boycotted the show, posting casting photos to their social media accounts with the words “Not Me” written on them.

The brand has sparked controversy in the past, including an incident in 2013 in which security guards outside a Dolce & Gabbana’s Hong Kong store were reportedly attempting to stop locals from taking pictures of the storefront while allowing tourists and Chinese mainland visitors to snap away, reported CNN. The brand later apologized for the incident.