Sir Elton John has called for a boycott of fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana after he said the designers labelled children born through IVF "synthetic".
The songwriter who has two children with his husband David Furnish angrily rebuked the Italian pair for criticising same-sex families and the use of fertility treatment.
Business partners Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who are both gay and were formerly a couple, have previously voiced their rejection of same-sex marriage but in an interview with an Italian magazine this weekend the remarks were extended to an objection to gay families.
Dolce told Panorama: “...what I call children of chemistry don’t convince me, synthetic children. Wombs for hire, (are a) choice from a catalogue. And then you have to explain to this child who is the mother. To procreate ought to be an act of love, today not even psychiatrists are ready to confront the effects of these experiments.”
In a post to his Instagram account this morning, Sir Elton said: "How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic'.
“And shame on you for wagging you judgemental little fingers at IVF — a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfil their dream of having children.
“Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions.”
“I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana.”
Responding to the boycott calls, Gabbana later said in a statement that “it was never our intention to judge other people’s choices. We do believe in freedom and love.”
Traditional family
In an interview in 2006, Gabbana revealed in an Italian magazine that he had approached a woman to be the mother of his baby but made it clear he struggled with the idea of a gay family.
“I am opposed to the idea of a child growing up with two gay parents,” he said.
“A child needs a mother and a father. I could not imagine my childhood without my mother. I also believe that it is cruel to take a baby away from its mother.”
The designers have put the traditional family at the centre of their last two collections, sending a pregnant model and models with their own children down the runway to celebrate motherhood for next winter’s womenswear collection, while featuring grandmothers with their grandsons for menswear.
Former Czech-American tennis star Martina Navratilova, who married her gay partner in December, tweeted in support: "Wow — I had no idea. It will be interesting to see if this ridiculousness hurts them in the bank. BoycottDolceGabbana."
PA