Sir Elton John has called for a boycott of fashion designers Domenico Dolce (inset) and Stefano Gabbana (right, pictured with Naomi Campbell and Victoria Beckham) after they dismissed children born via IVF as 'synthetic'. The singer, who has two sons Zachary, four, and Elijah, two, with husband David Furnish (pictured together left) with the help of a surrogate and artificial insemination, has joined a campaign to snub the D&G brand after the Italians called such children 'chemical' offspring. Posting a picture of the designers - who were a couple for 23 years - on photo sharing website Instagram yesterday, Sir Elton wrote: 'How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic'.
Sir Elton John has called for a boycott of designers Dolce & Gabbana after they criticised children born via IVF, pictured is the singer with his husband David Furnish and their children Zachary, four and Elijah, two
Posting a picture of the designers – who were a couple for 23 years – on photo sharing website Instagram yesterday, Sir Elton wrote: 'How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic'.
'And shame on you for wagging your judgmental little fingers at IVF – a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfil their dream of having children.
'Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana.'
His comments came after Mr Dolce told Italian magazine Panorama that procreation 'should be an act of love', adding: 'You are born and you have a father and mother. At least it should be like that. That's why I'm not convinced by what I call chemical children, synthetic babies.
'They are wombs for hire, semen chosen from a catalogue. And then you have to explain to these children who their mother is.'
'How dare you': Sir Elton posted a photo of design duo Dolce & Gabbana on his Instagram page and responded to their comments in a strongly-worded attack
Asked whether he wanted to be a father, Mr Dolce said: 'I am gay. I cannot have a child. I don't believe that you can have everything in life.' Mr Gabbana added: 'The family is not a fad. It is a supernatural sense of belonging.'
Yesterday, the row escalated as Mr Gabbana posted a picture of Sir Elton on Instagram and wrote: 'Who wants to see him dressed in Dolce & Gabbana?'
He also shared an image of a mother and child, writing: 'We live in a democratic country and respect for the ideas of others is essential.'
Dr Gillian Lockwood of the Midland Fertility Centre said she was 'speechless' at the Italians' comments. She said: 'If there's anything more 'synthetic' than Dolce and Gabbana I don't know what it is.'
The sister of Louise Brown, the world's first 'test tube baby', called their views 'shocking'. Natalie Brown, 32, said: 'They are small minded, pathetic little people.'
But others supported the designers, with one Instagram user writing on Sir Elton's account: 'They just expressed their opinion.'
Mr Gabbana said in a statement last night: 'We believe firmly in democracy and we think freedom of expression is essential for that.'
Mr Dolce and Mr Gabbana, who had a Roman Catholic upbringing, have always opposed gay marriage.
Sir Elton married long-term partner David Furnish in December. Their sons Zachary and Elijah are four and two.
The singer's previous spats include one with Madonna, whom he called a 'fairground stripper'.
Sir Elton posted on Instagram saying: 'Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions', pictured with his husband and their two sons
The billionaire fashion duo with an A-list clientele
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana came from modest backgrounds to become two of the richest men in Italy.
Dolce, 56, was born near Palermo, Sicily, where his father was a tailor and his mother worked in a shop selling fabric and clothes.
He met Gabbana, 52 – who was born in Milan to a factory worker father and laundress mother – in a club in the early 1980s.
Posh: Designer Stefano Gabbana (centre) with supermodel Naomi Campbell and Victoria Beckham
Dolce helped his friend find a job with him working for designer Giorgio Correggiari, and their friendship blossomed into a relationship.
They moved in together in 1983 and founded Dolce & Gabbana fashion house in 1985. Their big break then came in 1993 when Madonna signed them to design costumes for her Girlie tour – including her famous black beaded bra.
Domenico Dolce told Italian magazine Panorama that procreation 'should be an act of love'
The pair ended their relationship after more than 20 years in 2005, admitting they had ‘been drifting apart for five years’.
But they remained business partners, with Gabbana describing his friend as ‘my family’ after the break-up.
They revealed in a 2010 interview that they lived in identical apartments one floor above the other in the same building in Milan.
They also own luxury homes in France and London, as well as hosting lavish parties on their yacht in Monaco.
In 2013 the businessmen joined Bloomberg’s prestigious Billionaires’ Index, with Dolce’s net worth estimated at $2.2billion (£1.5billion) and Gabbana’s at around $2.1billion.
They were also acquitted of tax evasion by Italy’s highest court in October last year, which overruled decisions by two lower courts to hand them a 20-month suspended sentence for failing to pay tax on around 200million euros (£142million).
They were accused of funnelling funds through a firm in Luxembourg, but following their acquittal issued a statement saying: ‘We have always been honest.’
Their brand remains a celebrity favourite and has been worn by A-listers including Kylie Minogue, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
CELEBRITY SAME-SEX COUPLES WITH CHILDREN VIA SURROGACY AND IVF
Sir Elton John and David Furnish
Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish had two sons together, Zachary, four, and Elijah, two, with the help of a surrogate and artificial insemination.
They were both born to the same surrogate mother, but David Furnish has been named as the mother on the birth certificates of both children.
The couple have decided not reveal the name of their newborn's biological mother.
Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish had two sons together, Zachary, four, and Elijah, two
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka
The How I Met your Mother actor and his partner David Burtka have four-year-old fraternal twins - Gideon Scott, a boy, and Harper Grace, a girl.
The process involved two embryos, one for each of them – and a surrogate who Burtka said was 'more like the oven.'
Both men knew the surrogate, but the egg donor - who they found through a donation bank and thus were able to research her personal and medical history - was anonymous. Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris and his partner have both said they have 'no interest' in learning which twin is their biological child.
Neil Patrick Harris and his partner David Burtka have four-year-old fraternal twins - Gideon Scott, a boy, and Harper Grace, a girl
Matt Bomer and Simon Halls
White Collar actor Matt Bomer and his partner Simon Halls have three son, including a set of twins, all born via a surrogate mother.
The actor Bomer publicly acknowledged that he was gay, in 2012 when he thanked Simon Halls and their children during his Steve Chase Humanitarian Award’s acceptance speech.
Ricky Martin
The singer has six-year-old twins Matteo and Valentino and he has revealed that he would love to have a little girl.
After his sons were born in 2008 via a surrogate he opened up about his sexuality.
He split in January last year from his longtime partner Carlos Gonzalez Abella.
White Collar actor Matt Bomer and his partner Simon Halls (left) have three son, including a set of twins, all born via a surrogate mother and Ricky Martin has twins (right), pictured with his former partner Carlos
Tom Ford and Richard Buckley
Fashion designer Tom Ford has a two-year-old son Alexander with his long-term partner Richard Buckley.
The baby is believed to have been born via a surrogate and the designer has affectionately described him as a 'genius'.
The couple met when Ford was just 25 and Mr Buckley, the former Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International, was 38.
Mary Portas and Melanie Rickey
Queen of Shops star Mary Portas revealed last month that the genetic father of her young son Horatio is in fact her brother.
Miss Portas and her civil partner Melanie Rickey had previously kept their sperm donor's identity anonymous.
Miss Rickey, 42, gave birth to the couple's first child in 2012 following IVF treatment. They had desperately wanted Miss Portas, 54, to also have a genetic link to their child.
Queen of Shops star Mary Portas revealed last month that the genetic father of her young son Horatio is in fact her brother, pictured with her civil partner Melanie Rickey
Cynthia Nixon and Christine Marinoni
The Sex and the City star has two children, Samantha and Charles, from her long-term relationship with English professor Danny Mozes.
The couple split in 2003 and since then she has dated education activist Christine Marinoni.
Ms Marinoni have birth to the couple's son Max in 2011, but they kept tight-lipped about the identity of the biological father.
Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon and Christine Marinoni have a son Max together, pictured in 2011
Via - Daily Mail
No comments:
Post a Comment