Despite currently in rehab avoiding the ongoing publicity, John Galliano is still in the press. Yesterday a hearing decided that the former Dior designer will stand trial for his alleged anti-Semetic remarks made to Geraldine Bloch, Philippe Virgitti, and Fathia Oumeddour in Paris earlier on this year on June 22.
Having sacked his former lawyer Stephane Zerbib, the designer has hired Aurélien Hamelle to represent him at the upcoming trial. According to The Cut, if the designer is found guilty he could end up facing six months in jail as well as a 22,500 euros (about $31,270) fine.
Last week we reported that John Galliano sacked his former lawyer Stephane Zerbib for abnormal accounting practices and now more information is emerging as to why the two parted ways. Reports allege that the Jewish lawyer stole $4.1 from the former Dior designer back in 2010 when he was paid to manage the revenue for one of Galliano's companies.
Last week The New York Post reported that:
The lawsuit alleges that Galliano discovered multiple payments to the lawyer, including cash withdrawals near Zerbib's office using the company's card, on one occasion up to seven times a day.
Zerbib denied the allegations, saying that Galliano would be better off saving his fire for his trial.
The date of the trial against the lawyer is set to be announced but he will reportedly countersue for libel.
Sadly things only seem to go from bad to worse for John Galliano. As expected, Dior gowns were scarce on the red carpet at last night's Met Gala and his namesake line did not appear at all. To make matters worse, despite recent reports that his Jewish lawyer Stephane Zerbib has quit, the designer's spokesperson revealed that Zerbib was actually fired. Vogue.com reports:
Amid rumours today that John Galliano's lawyer, Stephane Zerbib, had quit, a spokesperson for the British designer told us Zerbib had in fact been fired as Galliano's representative: "Mr Zerbib was dismissed as Galliano's lawyer some weeks ago following the discovery of apparent irregularities in respect of his firms administration of Galliano's financial affairs over a number of years," the spokesperson told us.
It must have been serious irregularities to warrant th designer firing the lawyer so close to his trial, as Galliano is set to appear in court next weekfor allegedly making anti-Semitic comments to people in a cafe in Paris earlier this year.
