Pathetic Russian prosecutor tries to ban D&G advert over same-sex kiss
Russian prosecutors are trying to ban Dolce & Gabbana’s adverts featuring same-sex couples kissing. (Instagram)
A prosecutor is fighting to have Dolce & Gabbana adverts showing same-sex couples kissing banned in Russia, where “gay propaganda” is illegal.
The Italian fashion house shared a number of videos of couples kissing in the lead-up Valentine’s Day this year, including LGBT+ couples – and Russia isn’t best pleased, Reuters reports.
Mikhail Romanov, a member of the country’s ruling party United Russia, filed a complaint about the adverts. On 14 May, the press service for St Petersburg courts said the prosecutor has since asked that Dolce & Gabbana’s ads showing two women kissing be banned in Russia.
The press office said the prosecutor has claimed Dolce & Gabbana’s campaign “contains information that rejects family values and propagandises non-traditional sexual relationships”.
The St Petersburg court press service confirmed on Monday (24 May) that the prosecutor has also asked that a second image from the fashion house showing two men kissing be banned.
The case has not yet progressed because the prosecutor is yet to provide supporting documentation for its case. An update on prosecutors’ efforts is expected on 7 June.
Dolce & Gabbana’s Love is Love campaign has riled up Russian lawmakers
Dolce & Gabbana shared the images and videos as part of its “Love is Love” campaign in February, which included both same and mixed-gender couples passionately kissing.
The videos proved controversial among Russian lawmakers because of the country’s 2013 law banning the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relations for minors.
Dolce & Gabbana’s LGBT+ inclusive advertising campaign comes just years after the fashion brand’s founders Domenico and Stefano faced backlash from queer people across the world when they stated their opposition to same-sex parenting.
“We oppose gay adoptions,” the pair said in a 2015 interview with Italian magazine Panorama. “The only family is the traditional one.”
While both designers later apologised, the founders’ reputations have been repeatedly battered since. In 2018, Stefano called Selena Gomez “ugly” in the comment section of The Catwalk Italia’s Instagram feed.
That same year, the fashion house came under fire yet again when they shared a promotional video on social media showing an Asian woman trying to eat Italian food as part of the “DG Loves China” campaign.
The video – which showed the woman trying to eat Italian food with chopsticks while a male narrator asked her “Is it too huge for you?” – stoked controversy for its insensitive attitudes towards other cultures.
PinkNews has contacted Dolce & Gabbana for comment.
