Met Museum Cancels Planned Galliano Exhibit Amid Backlash

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and fashion designer John Galliano jointly announced Monday that the planned exhibition “John Galliano: Horizons” would not proceed as planned, following weeks of mounting public backlash over the decision to honor a designer convicted of antisemitic hate speech. The exhibition was scheduled to open in May 2027 as the spring Costume Institute show, launched by the annual Met Gala.

“Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition,” Max Hollein, director and CEO of the museum, said in a statement. The museum confirmed that details about a new spring Costume Institute exhibition and the 2027 Met Gala will be announced at a later date.

A Rare Honor, A Deeply Controversial Choice

The exhibition would have made Galliano only the third living designer to receive a solo show at the Costume Institute, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in 2017. The show was first announced on July 31, with the Met stating it would “directly address the rupture caused by his antisemitic, racist, and anti-Asian conduct” and examine how artistic achievement should be understood alongside ethical accountability, according to the museum’s original announcement.

Galliano was convicted of a hate crime by a French court in 2011 for antisemitic and racist remarks made to bar patrons in Paris. Among the remarks circulated on video were “I love Hitler” and telling Jewish patrons their mothers and forefathers would have been “gassed.” He was fired from Christian Dior in 2011 and later blamed his behavior on substance abuse, saying he was addicted to alcohol, barbiturates, and sleeping pills.

After entering treatment, Galliano spent years in rehabilitation efforts. The Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman met with him repeatedly, and in 2013 the ADL said Galliano had demonstrated “true contrition.” He returned to fashion in 2014 as creative director of Maison Margiela, where he remained for a decade.

Backlash Intensifies

Opposition to the exhibition grew rapidly in August. New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and the first Jewish speaker of the NYC Council, sent a letter to Met leadership calling the decision to honor Galliano “a serious mistake.” Some donors threatened to withdraw gifts to the museum, and Jill Kargman, a longtime member of the patron group Friends of the Costume Institute, announced she was stepping down from her role.

The controversy was further complicated by the fact that the 2027 Met Gala, traditionally held on the first Monday in May, would fall on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah). Reports had emerged that trustees were considering moving the gala date, as Deadline reported.

In his statement, Galliano said: “After much reflection and discussion with The Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time. I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it.”

He added: “I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.”

Reactions to the Decision

Anna Wintour, Met trustee and Vogue’s Global Editorial Director, called Galliano’s decision “very courageous and a measure of the man he is,” adding, “I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support.” Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of The Met’s Costume Institute, said he supported the decision not to proceed, given “the pain and concern this exhibition has caused.”

Menin welcomed the cancellation, saying: “From the beginning, I have told them that I strongly disagreed with this decision, and at this rising time of antisemitism, it had served as a gut punch to the Jewish community. This is the correct decision, as the harm and pain this was causing was simply unacceptable.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said on X that “with antisemitism at crisis levels, the Met honoring John Galliano at this moment was misguided, and even Galliano ultimately recognized what the Met should have done at the start. This was the wrong move at the wrong moment. Timing matters.” The Jerusalem Post reported that Greenblatt had met with Hollein weeks earlier urging the museum to cancel.

A Broader Cultural Debate

The cancellation reflects a growing debate about whether cultural institutions should honor artists and designers with problematic pasts, and whether redemption should entitle someone to the highest honors. As Rabbi David Ingber of the Bronfman Center at 92NY put it: “Redemption doesn’t entitle someone to every honor that we have.”

Some prominent rabbis, including Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism and Joshua Davidson of Congregation Emanu-El, had met with Galliano and believed his repentance was sincere, though neither endorsed the Met’s decision to honor him. They had urged the museum to make Galliano’s antisemitic conduct and the lessons of his repentance an explicit part of the exhibition if it proceeded.

The decision also comes against a backdrop of rising antisemitism in the United States, with FBI data showing that nearly two-thirds of 2025 religious hate crimes in the U.S. were antisemitic.

Galliano, who left Maison Margiela in 2024 and later collaborated with Zara, is expected to launch his first season collection for Zara this fall. The Met said information on a replacement exhibition and the 2027 Met Gala will be announced at a later date, as NBC News reported.

What to Watch For

The cancellation leaves the Met without a planned spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition, and the museum has not yet announced what will replace it. The fate of the 2027 Met Gala date remains uncertain, and the broader question of how institutions balance artistic legacy with ethical accountability will likely continue to shape cultural debates in the months ahead.