The Met Cancels the John Galliano Retrospective (with Dana Thomas) [TEASER]

Back Row with Amy Odell

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has canceled the planned John Galliano retrospective, 'Horizons,' set for May 2027, amid intense backlash ove

Key takeaways

The cancellation reflects growing pressure from donors, politicians, and Jewish community leaders who condemned the exhibition as insensitive given Galliano's documented history of hate speech.

Main topics

Cancellation of John Galliano's Met retrospective
Galliano's history of anti-Semitic and racist behavior

Notable quotes

"If you lose the politicians and you lose the donors, it's not going to happen."

Conclusion

The cancellation of the John Galliano retrospective signals a pivotal moment in fashion's relationship

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:02) I am here with Dana Thomas, a fashion journalist and author of Gods and Kings, a dual biography of John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. And we are here with breaking news that the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Costume Institute have decided not to move forward with the John Galliano retrospective planned for May 2027. I'm surprised. Dana, what do you think? Speaker 2 (0:24) I'm not surprised Speaker 1 (0:24) at Speaker 2 (0:25) all. Speaker 1 (0:25) I'm surprised that it came this quickly. Why are you not surprised? Speaker 2 (0:28) It's interesting because, uh, I was asked on Saturday night at a dinner, what do you think, are you going to go on with it? And I said, nope. And it was because, you know, I wrote a piece in the New York Times, an op-ed, and you did your podcast, and other people wrote pretty tough pieces. But then Vanessa Friedman and Jacob Bernstein on Friday published a reported piece about the backlash and the impact that this... announcement has had. Because, you know, they did it on the last Friday of July before we went on a vacation. Just about a month ago. Yeah. It was kind of quiet. There was some backlash, but it was kind of quiet. But now everyone was back at the office this week and boy, did the momentum build. And when the head of the New York City Council came out against it and when donors started saying, we're not so sure we're going to actually follow through with our gifts to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, be it money or art, I thought, hmm. It's not going to happen. If you lose the politicians and you lose the donors. Speaker 1 (1:34) Yeah, so let's talk about... They want the Speaker 2 (1:36) Picasso more than they want the Galliano clothes. Speaker 1 (1:39) Yeah, let's talk about what that piece reported, because it was really good. It came out, was it on Saturday, I think, or Sunday? Friday, Friday. Oh, Friday. So just a few days ago from the time of our recording here on Monday, midday, my time in New York. But it talked about, yes, how donors threatened to rescind gifts. It talked about Julie Menon, the Speaker of the City Council and one of the most senior Jewish officials in city government, who called the museum's decision to highlight... Galliano's career a serious mistake in a letter that she sent to Max Hollein. Max Hollein is the director and CEO of The Met, not just the Costume Institute, but The Met. So she sent this letter to... And then she posted it. She posted Speaker 2 (2:17) it on X, on Twitter, X, the full letter. And I saw that and I said, when I read that and it was getting shared and read all over social media, the entire two-page letter, I thought, there's no way. Speaker 1 (2:29) Yes, there was also Arnie, is that how you say it? Arnie Glimcher, the art world titan. He sent an email critical of the show to Holine and David Breslin, a Met curator. And he wrote, I don't think you have considered the cost of this action and its reverberations to come. The Times read this email. And he added that he and his wife were seriously reconsidering other works that have been earmarked from their collections for the Met in their wills. Jill Kargman. I read that. Speaker 2 (2:59) I knew it was all over for John Galliano. Speaker 1 (3:01) There's also Jill Kargman. She's been a longtime member of the Friends of the Costume Institute. And she said she was stepping down from her role because of the exhibition. Dave Ingber, the senior director for Jewish Life and senior director of the Bronfman Center at the 92nd Street Y and founding rabbi of the Ramamuth Synagogue. He was not in the meetings that we heard about previously where Galliano and Anna Wintour. And Andrew Bolton, I guess, they met with Jewish leaders who got them to say, well, I guess this is okay. But he said, in a moment of growing anti-Semitic hostility, placing Galeano at the center of a great cultural spectacle communicates more than just an artistic examination of his work. So I want to talk really, I think, about three things. What this whole situation says about fashion, what it says about Galeano, and what it says about Anna Wintour. Let's start with fashion. What do you think this says about