Italian designer calls Madonna a 'human toilet' in scathing social media rant after the 60-year-old singer was pictured wearing his clothing
- Marcelo Burlon, the creative director for the brand County of Milan, has come under fire for a scathing Facebook post
- He shared pictures of Madonna in a County of Milan outfit and referred to her as 'la cessa' — a slang term translating roughly to 'human toilet'
- He also 'guaranteed' she wasn't sent the clothes for free but bought them herself
- After, he was called out by Instagram account Diet Prada, which called him a 'misogynist' and 'human garbage'
- Burlon has since deleted the post and apologized, insisting it was a 'stupid mistake' and a joke that was misconstrued
An Italian designer has issued a public apology after writing what's been called a 'vile' and 'misogynistic' Facebook post about Madonna.
On June 16, the 60-year-old singer was photographed arriving at JFK airport in a colorful outfit by the brand County of Milan.
But rather than be thrilled that an international superstar was wearing and publicizing his brand, creative director Marcelo Burlon wrote on Facebook to express disappointment — and referred to Madonna as 'la cessa,' an Italian slang term that means 'human toilet.'
Snap snap: On June 16, Madonna was photographed arriving at JFK airport in a colorful outfit by the brand County of Milan
Matchy-matchy: The 60-year-old singer picked a matching pair of sweats and a hoodie by the brand
Madonna was pictured on Sunday wearing the brand from head to toe. Photographers caught her at the airport in a pair of black sweatpants and a matching hoodie, both covered in a colorful design of stick figures and children's drawings.
Despite the hot and humid June weather in New York, she layered these with a bulky coat and socks with sandals.
When Burlon saw the images, he quickly shared a gallery of them on Facebook — with a less-than-flattering message.
'And the time finally came that Madonna, la cessa, wore County [of Milan],' he wrote in Italian.
'I want to guarantee that nobody has given her anything for free, but that she paid with your money.'
The Instagram account Diet Prada soon noticed the post and shared it, explaining that calling someone 'la cessa' is the equivalent of saying she's a 'human toilet' or 'ugly as f***.'
Rude: Soon, the brand's designer, Marcelo Burlon (pictured), posted images of her online — and described her as 'la cessa,' or a 'human toilet'
Caught: The post, which was written in Italian, was captured by followers before it was deleted
Diet Prada wrote: '@marceloburlon proving to be human garbage. Yesterday in Facebook post, the designer captioned a photo set of @madonna wearing the brand.
'After deleting the Facebook post, Burlon began publicizing those same photos on Instagram stories.
'Dieters, time to file him and his brand along with the other woman-shaming misogynist designers (Stefano and Philipp Plein, we’re looking at you).
The post also included the hashtags #misogyny, #misogynist, #hypocrite, #lame, #garbage, #jerk, and #loser.
Commenters had something to say about the post too, calling it 'vile' and writing 'shame shame shame.'
'I’d cancel him, but I’ve never heard of him,' wrote one.
'She spent money on his clothes, it pays his bills. He’s unhappy?' asked another.
Watch your language! The Instagram account Diet Prada called Burlon out for being a 'misogynist'
And a third wrote: 'He should be proud that Madonna wears her “brand”. This is a woman who change the concept of music and fashion. I’m so tired of reading misogynist comments about her.'
After the designer deleted the post, he took to Instagram to apologize, clearly aware of the backlash against his comments.
'I made a huge mistake and I would first and foremost like to apologize for my stupidity,' Burlon wrote.
'Social media is a tool which can often be used for a frivolous laugh, but what I really learned today is that this should never ever be at the expense of another person, or group of people.
'I would like to ask forgiveness and express my most sincere regret to Madonna and anyone whom I might have offended, insulted, or touched.
Mea culpa: Burlon soon apologized, writing that he was making a joke that he realizes now was not OK
He wrote: 'I clearly understand that it was my mistake to assume that I could speak on social media using the same tone that I use in my daily private life'
'I love and I want to share love and harmony. I also intend to learn from my mistakes,' he concluded, signing the post 'with humility'
Whoops: He also apologized in his stories for 'talking bulls***' about her
'Yesterday I posted images of Madonna wearing my brand stating that she purchased the garments herself. I haphazardly and irresponsibly used a common italian slur to describe her.
Mum: Madge herself hasn't commented on the online uproar
'The term, which I use often with close friends, in context is non offensive, but I clearly understand that it was my mistake to assume that I could speak on social media using the same tone that I use in my daily private life.
'Instead of celebrating the fact that a celebrated, and highly respected woman like Madonna (who is a woman, a mother, a daughter, a friend, and an inspiration to many) made a choice to freely wear something from my collection I have played foolish and irreverent.
'My intention was never to provoke antagonism or hate,' he went on. 'I made a naive and stupid mistake but the root of this should not be misunderstood as misogynistic because that was in no way my motivation.
'As anyone close to me can attest, I have always attempted to effectively live my life without gender, age, or racially based prejudice. I am not perfect, and I too learn daily from my surroundings which is why I would sincerely like to punctuate that there was in no way malicious intent based on gender or age in my post.
'I love and I want to share love and harmony. I also intend to learn from my mistakes,' he concluded, signing the post 'with humility.'
Beauty in red: Stefano Gabbana has come under fire for his own sexist comments, including one on this Instagram post about Selena Gomez
Controversial: Gabbana commented on the photo, calling the famous singer 'so ugly'
Sultry: Gabbana targeted supermodel Kate Moss on the same Instagram account as well
Jealous? While many praised the fashion doyenne's 'stunning' ensemble, Gabbana simply wrote: 'No'
Brutal: The designer, who owns label Dolce & Gabbana with Domenico Dolce, does not hold back on social media and has been embroiled in a series of controversies
As Diet Prada pointed out, Burlon isn't the first Italian designer to be charged with misogyny for comments made on social media.
Dolce & Gabbana co-founder Stefano Gabbana has a long history of making rude comments on Instagram — which is compounded by sexism, racism, and insensitivy controversies stirred up by the brand's designs and campaigns.
In June of 2018, he commented on photos of Selena Gomez on Instagram, calling the stunning singer 'ugly.' Around the same time, he left a catty comment on a photo of Kate Moss.
He's also been known to have all-out fights with other people in Instagram comments and DMs, and in November of 2018 messaged a critic with racist, anti-Chinese remarks.
'From now on in all the interviews that I will do international I will say that the country of [five poop emojis] is China,' he wrote.
'China Ignorant Dirty Smelling Mafia,' he added.
