Peter Allen – Daily Mail March 11, 2011
A key witness in the anti-Semitism case against British fashion designer John Galliano today declared: ‘He’s no racist.’
The 50-year-old designer faces up to six months in prison after launching a tirade of allegedly racist abuse against fellow drinkers in a Paris bar.
But today Philippe Virgitti, a 41-year-old Frenchman who was involved in one of the two incidents due to be examined by a court this summer, broke his silence about the allegations.
Mr Virgitti, a receptionist from an Asian background, said of Galliano: ‘I don’t think he’s racist or anti-Semitic. I just think he’s very ill.’
The claim, made to Le Parisian newspaper, will be looked at closely by magistrates and could even see Galliano’s trial abandoned
A legal source close to the case explained: ‘Mr Galliano did not physically hurt anybody – the allegations are simply about what he said.
‘If he was solely involved in some drunken banter, rather than anything overtly racist, then there is no case against him.’
In his newspaper interview, Mr Virgitti told how he and his girlfriend Geraldine Bloch, a 35-year-old art historian, were enjoying a drink at La Perla bar late last month.
‘We were having a beer when a man I didn’t know came and sat beside us.
‘He began to get aggressive straight away, turning to my companion and saying: “Your voice is annoying me, you’re speaking too loudly”.
‘Then the whole thing started and lasted for forty five minutes. He was staring at us, trying to humiliate us, and insulting us in any way he could.
‘I asked the bar staff to step in and help but they didn’t want to get involved because he was one of their regular clients and lived locally.
‘On the contrary, they actually brought him another mojito even though he was already drunk. If I hadn’t called the police, a fight would have broken out.
‘I didn’t want to change tables because we were there first. I just wanted him to leave us in peace.
‘He had already been drinking before he got to the bar. He seemed psychologically disturbed.’
Asked directly if Galliano had made anti-Semitic comments, Mr Virgitti said: ‘Yes, though I’m not convinced now that he really meant them.
‘I don’t think he’s a racist or anti-Semitic. I just think he’s very ill. This whole business has left us traumatised. At the time I didn’t even know that it was John Galliano.
‘It was only the next morning when I looked on my computer and realised who it was.
‘But ultimately it was just a bust-up in a bar and I hope this business does not end up destroying him.’
In June Galliano will stand trial on charges of ‘public insults based on the origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity’ against three people – Mr Virgitti, Miss Bloch and an unnamed woman who complained about a similar incident at La Perle in October 2010.
Galliano has denied any wrong-doing, saying: ‘Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologise for my behaviour in causing any offence.’
But after the alleged attack on Mr Virgitti and Miss Bloch a video emerged of Galliano telling two young Italian women: ‘People like you ought to be dead, your mothers, your forefathers would all be fucking gassed. I love Hitler.’