Natalie Portman ‘disgusted’ by Galliano Semitic slur

Oscar-winning Black Swan star Natalie Portman said she was “disgusted” with disgraced Dior designer John Galliano over his anti-Jewish rants.

“I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments,” Ms Portman, who is Jewish and is the face of a Dior perfume, said in a statement.

“In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr Galliano in any way,” she added.

The British couturier had already been suspended by the firm last week after he was arrested and questioned by French police over allegations that he had subjected a couple to a drunken, anti-Semitic tirade.

The decision to sack him followed the release by a British daily of a video of an earlier incident in the same Paris café in which he had launched a similar rant, insulting other café patrons and declaring “I love Hitler”.

Ms Portman, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in the ballet thriller Black Swan, said: “I hope at the very least, these terr-ible comments remind us to reflect and act on combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.”

Ms Portman has an endorsement contract with Dior for its Miss Dior Cherie perfume.

She has worn Dior in the past, but on the Oscars red carpet Ms Portman, who is heavily pregnant after meeting her husband-to-be on the Black Swan set – was in a plum-coloured Rodarte gown, with Tiffany jewelry.