Sun sets on Galliano as Dior closes door and defamation action dies

OK so the benefit of the doubt got blown out of the window courtesy of The Sun which had got hold of a 'rant' captured on videophone. This does for Galliano on three fronts:

First - he can't deny what he said and the fact it is totally out of order (if not illegal)

Second - while Dior (LVMH) might have moved prudently to suspend him they - as any corporate - would have had no choice other than to 'fire' him - they needed to disassociate themselves from his actions and words.

Third - his (or his lawyers) hopes of a defamation action are severely diluted if not extinguished by the revelations The Sun provided. He's not going to be able to prove that what has been said about him is defamatory in the circumstances insofar as it appears to be true.

Why DIOR had to drop him:

While an exceptional designer and personality (aside from these recent revelations) and a very difficult design act to follow, a brand such as Dior and any corporation for that matter - cannot stand by one of its brand champions that is such a liability in terms of coming out with such a vile rant.

There have been numerous examples in recent years where corporations have had to review their sponsorship arrangements following the behaviour of their 'stars' - e.g. Tiger Woods or Kate Moss (though in the latter case while she was dropped by some labels following allegations of drug taking she was promptly signed up by others) - it will be a feature of all the sponsorship contracts that the 'face' (star) promoting the brand will undertake not to bring the brand into disrepute or behave in a certain way.

Bottom line is that if you are in the public eye and the face of a brand or associtated with one then even having one drink too many or getting a parking ticket can spell trouble.

What has been the killer fact in this case is not that Galliano might have been drunk or taken exception to people or even verbally abused them BUT the content and sentiment of what he said. It is not defensible and no matter who you are and how great a designer you might be, you are not exempt from the moral mores of society and beyond the law. So the best case scenario for Galliano is losing his Dior gig - the worst case is doing some time in a French jail.