Elton John's #BoycottDolceGabbana stands against #BoycottEltonJohn on Twitter after fashion duo's ‘synthetic’ baby comment
A number of celebrities and hundreds of social media users have announced they will boycott Dolce and Gabbana products after the designer duo spoke out against gay relationships and IVF babies.
Speaking in Italian magazine 'Panorama', the pair said: "We oppose gay adoptions, the only family is the traditional one, no chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed," adding, "I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalogue".
In response to the comments, musician Elton John, who has conceived two children using IVF treatments, sparked a ban of the fashion company's products with an Instagram post.
A photo posted by Elton John (@eltonjohn) on
The movement reached critical mass at the weekend and has trended on Twitter for over 48 hours with the hashtag #BoycottDolceGabbana. Using the tag, musician Ricky Martin tweeted his distaste at D&G's comments.
.@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
As did Victoria Beckham.
Actor John Barrowman.
I just read the article. @dolcegabbana sound IGNORANT and STUPID. I agree with @eltonjohndotcom #BoycottDolceGabbana jb — John Barrowman MBE (@Team_Barrowman) March 15, 2015
And Courtney Love,
The pair has since issued a statement, Gabbana said: “We firmly believe in democracy and the fundamental principle of freedom of expression that upholds it. We talked about our way of seeing reality, but it was never our intention to judge other people’s choices. We do believe in freedom and love."
Dolce added: “I’m Sicilian and I grew up in a traditional 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. But in my personal experience, family had a different configuration. That is the place where I learnt the values of love and family.
Concluding: "I was talking about my personal view, without judging other people’s choices and decisions.”
As a backlash to the ban, Stefano Gabbana tried to kickstart the #BoycottEltonJohn campaign from his Instagram account - although it has failed to trend on the social network since.