EXCLUSIVE: John Galliano Drama 'Threatens to Overshadow Met Gala'

The cancellation of the tone-deaf exhibit showcasing the work of disgraced designer John Galliano to coincide with the next celebrity-heavy Met Gala is a black eye for fashion diva organizer Anna Wintour and a sign of how out-of-touch celebrities have become with the public, according to fashion and entertainment sources.

Galliano was given the boot by the Dior brand in 2011 after being convicted by a French court that determined he made despicable remarks about Jews and Asian people in a bar in Paris, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Making matters worse, the once esteemed designer was seen in a published video in another tirade screaming at patrons, saying "I love Hitler" and telling patrons "your mothers, your forefathers" would all be "gassed."

Galliano later apologized, underwent treatment for addiction and has repeatedly said those remarks do not represent his beliefs.

Still, the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art planned to devote its prestigious spring exhibition to him – with the May 3 Met Gala remarkably scheduled to coincide with Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Wintour, the venerable Vogue editor, stood by Galliano throughout the firestorm and defended the choice to honor him in July. "There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale than John Galliano."

But the museum did not share her view. Andrew Bolton, the curator of the Costume Institute, was quick to announce the cancellation, adding in a statement: "Whether Galliano can be forgiven is not a question the exhibition seeks to answer."

In recent years, the event's celebration of excess has been branded insensitive in challenging times, with tone-deaf stunts like Kim Kardashian drawing backlash in 2022 by squeezing into tragic Marilyn Monroe's famed gown.

At 2021's Met Gala, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew criticism by sporting the message "Tax the Rich" on an $18,000 gown – an event later investigated by the House Ethics Committee.

Then there was the embarrassing moment when Beyoncé's little sister, Solange Knowles, battered brother-in-law, Jay-Z, in an elevator after the 2014 Gala.

"The Met used to guarantee prestige. Now you can spend a fortune attending and wake up attached to somebody else's scandal," an insider said.

Another source said: "The Met Gala has become a parody of itself. It was once about supporting the Costume Institute. Now it's an obscenely extravagant spectacle where famous people preen for each other – far from the reality the fans live every day."

"For decades, Anna decided what was acceptable," an insider said. "Now people are asking whether Anna herself has become the problem."