Leftist activist and actress Jameela Jamil is furious that fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld will be honored at the 2023 Met Gala.
The 36-year-old British actress shared a lengthy response to the news that Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, would be celebrated at the fashion event next year. She pointed out what she considers as some of the designer’s major flaws.
“Karl Lagerfeld is the theme for the entire Met Gala next year,” Jamil shared in the caption of a lengthy Instagram post.
“This man… was indeed, supremely talented, but used his platform in such a distinctly hateful way, mostly towards women, so repeatedly and up until the last years of his life, showing no remorse, offering no atonement, no apology, no help to groups he attacked… there was no explanation for his cruel outbursts.”
She went on to describe how Lagerfeld was skeptical of the #MeToo movement and overweight women, to name a few.
“Those groups were women who were sexually assaulted, the entire me too movement, gay couples who wanted to adopt, all fat people, specifically fat women, and some of his greatest harm was against Muslim refugees, and the disgusting way he spoke about people fleeing their homes for fear of their lives,” Jamil wrote.
“Why is THIS who we celebrate when there are so many AMAZING designers out there who aren’t bigoted white men? What happened to everyone’s principles and ‘advocacy.’ You don’t get to stand for justice in these areas, and then attend the celebration of someone who reveled in his own public disdain for marginalized people,” she continued.
“Sorry, but no. This isn’t the 90s. We didn’t fight all this sh** just to throw it all away because some white guy made some pretty clothes for people’s skinny faves… come on now,” the actress concluded.
The image slideshow included “receipts” for her rant, including screenshots of interviews and news articles about Lagerfeld. One was from a 2009 interview with the German magazine Focus where the designer claimed “no one wants to see curvy women.” In another, he said being overweight was “very bad for the health.”
Another image mentioned #MeToo in the fashion world.
“If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model! Join a nunnery, there’ll always be a place for you in the convent,” Lagerfeld reportedly told Numero in 2018.
“I’m fed up with it,” he said according to another screenshot. “What shocks me most in all of this are the starlets who have taken 20 years to remember what happened. Not to mention the fact that there are no prosecution witnesses.”
Some other “controversial” comments include saying singer Adele was “a little too fat,” calling Heidi Klum “too heavy,” and saying Pippa Middleton “should only show her back,” per Buzzfeed. He also famously said Coco Chanel wasn’t a feminist because she “was never ugly enough for that.”
