When is an apology an apology? When it’s made by fashion designer John Galliano.
When is an apology not an apology? When it’s made by US Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed. He offers a non-apology apology.
In contrast, John Galliano admitted that he made horrible anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris cafe in 2011, with an anti-Asian slur, too. A French court convicted him.
El-Sayed does not admit. Instead, he tries to explain away his hateful remarks.
John Galliano paid the price in the loss of his prestigious job with Christian Dior and in loss of reputation. If El-Sayed had the same honesty, he would pay the analogous price by dropping out of the Michigan Senate race.
Still more: Galliano underwent a serious, years’ long rehabilitation, not an instant, one-minute primary-victory conversion.
And still more: Galliano was scheduled for a rare honor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art next May. Jewish political leaders in New York City and Met donors objected. Whether they were right to do so — given Galliano’s remorse, which earned the imprimatur of the late Abe Fox, longtime head of ADL and a Holocaust survivor — can be debated. Can a sinner repent?
Galliano did not fall back on that. Apparently, when he saw how his sordid anti-Semitic history still pained Jewish leaders, and how they saw his history as radically incommensurate with a major public honor, Galliano withdrew.
He offered no “context,” no “I was misconstrued,” no “not my intention” — no shimmering yet false “explanations” — as El-Sayed offered. Galliano offered no “I deserve better, since I have genuinely apologized.” He just withdrew. In contrast, El-Sayed bobs and weaves.
© IJN 2026
