Speaking of scandals, the boys at Dolce & Gabbana sure stepped into it, didn’t they?  It all started when Stefano Gabbana told Panorama magazine, “No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed.”  Domenico Dolce spoke out specifically against artificial insemination and surrogates, calling the result “synthetic children”.  In fairness, the interview was in a Spanish language magazine, and I’m sure the men were speaking in Italian, and I’m translating it into English.  But it should be noted that these comments are not much different than things the designers have been saying for over a decade.

This time, it created a firestorm.  The biggest shriek came from Elton John, who has been draped with swaths of D&G products.  He took umbrage at his children being called “synthetic” and called for a boycott, adding, “I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again.”  Unfortunately, two days later he was photographed carrying a little D&G shopping bag (he said it must have just been sitting in the house).  Ryan Murphy said, “Their clothes are as ugly as their hate.”  Ricky Martin Tweeted, “ur voices R 2powerfull 2B spreading so much h8”.  Madonna supported the boycott and added, “All babies contain a soul however they come to this earth and their families.”

Time for damage control.  Signor Dolce said, “I respect all the world, all the culture.  I believe in the traditional family.  It is impossible to change my culture for something different.”  Signor Gabbana said, “We love gay couple.  We are gay.  We love gay couple.  We love gay adoption.  We love everything.  It’s just an expression of my private point of view.”  Whatever the hell that means, it didn’t help.  The editorial director of their online magazine quit, and protestors have picketed the London D&G store with placards saying, “Homophobia is not fashionable!”