Elton John is furious with the founders of Dolce & Gabbana.
On Saturday night the music legend called for a boycott of the luxury fashion house after its founders, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, said they opposed same-sex marriage and gay adoptions in an interview with an Italian magazine.
“You are born to a mother and a father. Or at least that’s how it should be,” the pair told Panorama in the interview published last week. “I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Rented wombs, semen chosen from a catalog.”
The comments didn’t sit well with John who is married to longtime partner David Furnish. The couple has two sons through a surrogate.
“How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic,’” John wrote in a lengthy statement posted on his Instagram page (see below). “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 fulfill their dream of having children.”
Dolce and Gabbana were a couple for 23 years before breaking-up in 2005. Despite their sexuality, they have previously spoken out against same-sex marriage.
Meanwhile, several stars are joining John in criticizing the designing duo, including “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy who tweeted, “These designers horrifying views are never in fashion.”
Music sensation Ricky Martin also took issue with the comments in a tweet and accused the designers of spreading hate and telling them to “Wake up, It’s 2015.”
D&G is a favorite among Hollywood stars including Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and Christian Bale.
Below are several reactions to the designers’ comments:
https://twitter.com/MrRPMurphy/status/577151073414209536
.@dolcegabbana ur voices R 2powerfull 2B spreading so much h8 http://t.co/30Oe2hcxNt Wake up,Its 2015 Luv urselves guys #boycottdolcegabbana
— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) March 15, 2015
In spite of what @dolcegabbana think, my beautiful IVF children are not "synthetic children". I agree with @eltonjohndotcom
— Al Roker (@alroker) March 15, 2015
https://twitter.com/Courtney/status/576961963349053440
Following the backlash, the designers issued a statement to the Associated Press on Sunday afternoon to clarify their remarks.
“It was never our intention to judge other people’s choices. We do believe in freedom and love,” Gabbana said.
Dolce added that his comments were based on his experience growing up in a traditional Sicilian family “made up of a mother, a father and children. I am very well aware of the fact that there are other types of families and they are as legitimate as the one I’ve known.”