Elton John Hurt Over Dolce And Gabbana’s Claims That IVF Babies Are Synthetic, Calls For Boycott; Designers Defend View
Elton John is calling for a boycott of luxurious fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana after the Italian designers described children born through IVF as synthetic. Even though the Italian designers themselves are gay, they struggled with the idea of same-sex marriage as well as same-sex parenting. The designers have responded to the backlash they received.
Singer and songwriter, John, 67 is a father of two with his husband, David Furnish. Both of his children were born through IVF. This is why he took offence to what business partners Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, once a couple themselves, told an Italian magazine Panorama — IVF babies are synthetic. John took to his Twitter to voice out his hurt and anger. He said he could not believe the designers would call his “beautiful children” synthetic. He also accused them of being judgmental against IVF, when it was a miraculous invention that allowed countless straight and gay couple the ability to achieve their dream of having children. He said such negative views about IVF are archaic, and slammed the designs being produced by the brand as equally “out of step with the times.” He ended his tirade with a call for a boycott of the brand.
After the said post went viral, the designers told The Guardian that their views were personal, and that they did not intend to discredit other types of families. "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,” Gabbana said. Without alluding to the post made by John, Gabbana added that he and Dolce did not intend to question other people’s choices and that they believe in both love and freedom.
On the said Panorama magazine, aside from calling IVF “synthetic," the designers said that the only family is the “traditional one,” and that this could not be changed. The issue also stirred a debate. Czech-American former tennis star Martina Navratilova voiced out her support for John, calling out the designers’ view of IVF as ridiculous. President of LGBT Rights organization Arcigay, in Italy, Flavio Romani also claimed even though their position is personal, it is still harmful when pushed to others. The leader claimed that it contradicts the global movement for adoption and gay rights. On the other hand, Federica Chiavaroli, a senator from the New Centre-Right (NCD) party said that he is with Dolce and Gabbana on this one, saying the traditional family model should be protected.
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