Diesel selling £350 jacket with ‘faggot’ written all over it
Gay actor Tommy Dorfman wears the jacket in a Diesel ad campaign
Fashion brand Diesel is getting trashed online for selling a designer jacket which has the word “faggot” written all over it.
The jacket was released in September as part of Diesel’s Hate Couture range, a collaboration with a number of celebrities that takes hateful words and insults they have faced, reclaiming them through fashion.
As part of the campaign, actress Bella Thorne wore a T-shirt with the word “slut” printed across it, while 13 Reasons Why actor Tommy Dorfman, who is openly gay, donned a jacket bearing the word “faggot”, a reference to homophobic abuse online.
Dorfman and his 13 Reasons Why co-star Miles Heizer both appeared in an ad for the brand, with Dorfman wearing the black “faggot” jacket and Hezier wearing a denim “weirdo” jacket.
Diesel is selling the “Faggot'” jackets for £350
The brand has faced a wave of anger on social media this week after photos began circulating of the “faggot” jacket.
” It isn’t a positive word that should be plastered all over a jacket.”
Many in the LGBT+ community were not impressed by the attempt to sell the jacket, bearing homophobic slurs, for £350.
One Twitter user wrote: “What the flying fricken hell is this????? I have the strongest hate for this word and the way it’s thrown around like it’s nothing, and they’ve just gone and put it all over a jacket. It isn’t a positive word that should be plastered all over a jacket. Bold move diesel bold move.”
Another added: “Please tell me this is a joke. I get the message you’re trying to convey but as a gay and a long time customer of Diesel, I’m appalled at this!”
Others branded the campaign “disgusting” and called for Diesel to apologise.
Tommy Dorfman from 13 Reasons Why dances in the jacket
Diesel defended the collaboration with Tommy Dorfman
In a statement, a spokesperson for Diesel said: “Our aim has always been to disempower those that create the hate and manifest negativity.
“Every individual cast within the campaign relates personally to the issue itself.
“To bring awareness to the wider issue, each chose a phrase that they wanted to wear proudly with the goal of empowering others to take a stance.
“Together, Diesel and Tommy Dorfman use this as a platform to disempower the haters and show the more hate you wear, the less you care.”
Tommy Dorfman’s jacket has been met with an angry response online
Dorfman added: “All proceeds from this jacket are benefitting the Ali Forney Center in NY which provides shelter, food and programs to homeless LGBTQ+ youth.”
The actor said that he demanded that the proceeds from the “Faggot” jacket should go to the Ali Forney Center “before we closed the deal” for his involvement.
At the campaign launch in September, a statement from Diesel explained, “The campaign started with the hate that we get as a brand. So we are working with influencers who are receiving those comments to show that the more you expose hate, it loses power.”
