Diet Prada, an Instagram account known for calling out fashion brands, has decided to repel on the defamation lawsuit filed in the year 2019 by the Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana in an Italian civil court.
Diet Prada account, operated by its founders Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler, announced on March 4, 2021 via Instagram post that they have issued their response to the defamation suit with “a defense of our freedom of speech”; highlighting the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes in the US in the caption- “With so much anti-Asian hate spreading in the U.S., it feels wrong to continue to remain silent about a lawsuit that threatens our freedom of speech. We are a small company co-founded by a person of color, trying to speak out against racism in our own community.”
The defamation suit was filed by Dolce & Gabbana accusing the Instagram page owners of causing a loss in revenue of the company due to publish of the critical post about their brand.
In 2018, Diet Prada censured Dolce and Gabbana, saying the organization highlighted a “stereotypical and misogynist portrayal of a Chinese woman” in a controversial promotional campaign. The account likewise even shared a screenshot of what appeared to be a direct message from Stefano Gabbana’s account that included anti-Asian remarks.
At the time, the brand’s campaign did meet with the international outrage affecting sentiments, which further even lead to the hashtag #boycottdolce to trend on social media.
It was even reported by National Public Radio (NPR) that the company’s brand ambassador in China even severed ties with the company after the said incident. The brand’s founders, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, later issued an apology after the massive outrage.
Dolce & Gabbana’s 2019 defamation suit demands damages of €3 million (over $3.5 million USD at today’s conversion rates) for the organisation and another €1 million (around $1.2 million USD) for Gabbana.
Liu and Schuyler are being represented pro bono by Professor Susan Scafidi, the founder and director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham, even cited to Insider that “We are confident that Diet Prada is on the right side of both law and history and we are honoured to help them demonstrate that harmful stereotypes are never in style”.
Diet Prada set up a GoFundMe page with a $ 26,000 target to cover legal costs and it has been reported that the fundraiser had raised over $ 8,500 as of afternoon of March 4, 2021.
The hearing of the defamation suit is scheduled for May but there are chances that the case could be settled out of the court before then.
