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"For the first time since Christian Dior began proceedings to fire him over alleged anti-Semitic comments he made in a French bar last week, John Galliano is speaking out.\r\n&amp;quot;I completely deny the claims made against me and have fully cooperated with the police investigation,&amp;quot; Galliano, 50, said in a statement.\r\n\r\nThe disgraced Dior designer went on to explain his remarks were made following an &amp;quot;unprovoked assault,&amp;quot; by a patron in the restaurant. In France, it is a crime to make anti-Semitic comments, and Galliano could face up to six months in jail if convicted.\r\nDespite maintaining his innocence, the designer, who&amp;apos;s dressed stars like Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and Cate Blanchett, didn&amp;apos;t pass the buck entirely.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;I must take responsibility for the circumstances in which I found myself,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I must face up to my own failures and work hard to gain people&amp;apos;s understanding and compassion. To start this process I am seeking help and all I can hope for in time is to address the personal failure which led to these circumstances and try and earn people&amp;apos;s forgiveness.&amp;quot;\r\nHe added, &amp;quot;Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nAfter the February 25 incident, a British tabloid ran a video of Galliano yelling at two women, saying, &amp;quot;I love Hitler... People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers would all be f...ing gassed.&amp;quot;\r\nDior spokesperson Natalie Portman, who is Jewish, said she would have nothing to do with Galliano.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano&amp;apos;s comments that surfaced,&amp;quot; she said. &amp;quot;I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-style/news/john-galliano-speaks-out-on-anti-semitic-rant-201123>