Piers Morgan on Dolce and Gabbana boycott: It’s just another word for bullying
Piers Morgan has savaged the boycott of Dolce and Gabbana after the pair’s dismissal of ‘non-traditional’ families – claiming that a boycott is “just another word for bullying”.
Legendary fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana – who are gay themselves –made the controversial comments in an interview this week, when they said in part: “We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one.
“No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed.”
Sir Elton John – who has sons Zachary and Elijah with his husband David Furnish – told the pair: ” How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic’… your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again.”
Writing in the Mail, former journalist Piers Morgan said that while he supports gay rights and supports Sir Elton, he believes boycotts are “bullying”.
He said: “Where I disagree with Elton is his call for a boycott of Dolce and Gabbana. We seem to be living in a celebrity-fuelled boycott society these days.
“Barely a week goes by without some star somewhere demanding we all boycott something.
“Recently, Hollywood decided to boycott the Beverly Hills Hotel because its owner, the Sultan of Brunei, introduced draconian – and outrageous – new anti-gay laws.
“I didn’t join the boycott because I didn’t see why the hard-working staff there should suffer for the political actions of a boss who lives thousands of miles away.”
He added: “Boycotting Dolce and Gabbana may make Elton and a few celebrities feel better, but all it will do is damage the livelihoods of thousands of innocent Dolce employees and it won’t make any difference to the debate on gay rights.
“What WILL make a difference is honest, sensible, passionate argument.
“There are tens of millions of people around the world who still feel, many from religious convictions, deeply uncomfortable about the concept gay marriage and gay parents.
“The best way to alleviate that discomfort is not by strangling their rights to freedom of thought or speech, or demonizing them. But by making them see that their fears are unfounded.
“If I were Elton John, I’d stop this silly call for a boycott, and invite Dolce and Gabbana round to one of his houses for to let them see with their own eyes what a great dad he is and how happy and well adjusted his kids are.
“Elton’s best weapon in this debate is practicing what he preaches, with demonstrable success – not trying to stop others from having an opinion.
“I’m also launching my own hashtag today: #BoycottAllBoycotts.”
