Editing Karl Lagerfeld (section)

== Controversies ==
{{Criticism section|date=May 2023}}
There was much controversy from Lagerfeld's use of a verse from the [[Quran]] in his spring 1994 couture collection for Chanel, despite apologies from the designer and the fashion house. The controversy erupted after the 1994 couture show in Paris when the Indonesian Muslim Scholars Council in [[Jakarta]] called for a boycott of Chanel and threatened to file formal protests with the government of Lagerfeld's homeland, Germany. The designer apologized, explaining that he had taken the design from a book about the [[Taj Mahal]], thinking the words came from a love poem.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/25/style/chronicle-979180.html|title=Style – Chronicle|last=Brozan|first=Nadine|date=25 January 1994|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=8 September 2011}}</ref>

Lagerfeld was a supporter of the use of fur in fashion, although he himself did not wear fur and hardly ate meat. In a BBC interview in 2009, he claimed that hunters "make a living having learnt nothing else than hunting, killing those beasts who would kill us if they could" and said: "In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish". Spokespersons for [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]] (PETA) called Lagerfeld "a fashion dinosaur who is as out of step as his furs are out of style",<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG4075783/Karl-Lagerfeld-defends-fur-industry-saying-beasts-would-kill-us-if-we-didnt-kill-them.html|title=Karl Lagerfeld defends fur industry saying 'beasts' would kill us if we didn't kill them|last=Adams|first=Stephen|date=2 January 2009|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=8 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205042045/http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG4075783/Karl-Lagerfeld-defends-fur-industry-saying-beasts-would-kill-us-if-we-didnt-kill-them.html|archive-date=5 February 2012|url-status=dead|location=London}}</ref> and "particularly delusional with his kill-or-be-killed mentality. When was the last time a person's life was threatened by a mink or rabbit?"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/designer_gone_wild_kXUBOMVmTUGpHwB5BVF1KP|title=Designer Gone 'Wild'|last=Delfiner|first=Rita|date=3 January 2009|work=New York Post|access-date=8 September 2011}}</ref> In 2001, he was the target of a [[pieing]] at a fashion premiere at [[Lincoln Center]] in New York City. However, the [[tofu]] pies hurled by animal rights activists in protest [[Fur clothing#Anti-fur campaigns|against his use of fur]] within his collections went astray, instead hitting [[Calvin Klein (fashion designer)|Calvin Klein]]. A PETA spokesperson described the hit on Klein as "[[friendly fire]]", calling Klein, who does not use fur, "a great friend to the animals" and Lagerfeld a "designer dinosaur", who continues to use fur in his collections.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/calvin-klein-pie-faced/|title=Calvin Klein Pie-Faced|date=11 February 2009|access-date=8 September 2011|work=CBS news}}</ref> In 2010, after Lagerfeld used [[fake fur]] in his 2010 Chanel collection, PETA's website claimed: "It's the triumph of fake fur&nbsp;... because fake fur changed so much and became so great now that you can hardly see a difference".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2010/03/10/Karl-Lagerfelds-Triumph-of-Fake-Fur.aspx|title=Karl Lagerfeld's 'Triumph of Fake Fur'|date=10 March 2010|publisher=PETA|access-date=8 September 2011}}</ref>

Lagerfeld in 2009 joined critics of supermodel [[Heidi Klum]], following German designer [[Wolfgang Joop]]'s remarks about Klum, who had posed naked on the cover of the German edition of ''[[GQ]]'' magazine. Joop described Klum as being "no runway model. She is simply too heavy and has too big a bust".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.gq-magazin.de/galerien/heidi-klum-nackt-und-ihr-leben-in-bildern-1-jpg/4836/304524|title=Heidi Klum nackt in GQ|access-date=8 September 2011|magazine=GQ Magazine|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030010743/http://www.gq-magazin.de/galerien/heidi-klum-nackt-und-ihr-leben-in-bildern-1-jpg/4836/304524|archive-date=30 October 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bild.de/news/bild-english/news/german-designer-wolfgang-joop-says-she-is-no-runway-supermodel-7375016.bild.html|title=German designer Wolfgang Joop lashes out at supermodel|date=17 April 2009|newspaper=Bild|access-date=8 September 2011|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202184241/http://www.bild.de/news/bild-english/news/german-designer-wolfgang-joop-says-she-is-no-runway-supermodel-7375016.bild.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lagerfeld commented that neither he nor [[Claudia Schiffer]] knew Klum, as she had never worked in Paris, and that she was insignificant in the world of high fashion, being "more bling bling and glamorous than current fashion".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bild.de/news/bild-english/news/fashion-designer-says-supermodel-is-too-bling-bling-7423158.bild.html|title=Heidi Klum attacked by Karl Lagerfeld. Fashion designer thinks supermodel is "too bling bling"|date=23 April 2009|newspaper=Bild|access-date=8 September 2011|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202184246/http://www.bild.de/news/bild-english/news/fashion-designer-says-supermodel-is-too-bling-bling-7423158.bild.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> He created an international furore on 9 February 2012, when he called the singer [[Adele]] "a little too fat".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.us/newyork/news/international/2012/02/06/karl-lagerfeld-on-adele-the-greek-crisis-and-m-i-a-s-middle-finger-updated/|title=Karl Lagerfeld on Adele, the Greek crisis and M.I.A.'s middle finger (UPDATED)|publisher=Metro|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103231415/http://www.metro.us/newyork/news/international/2012/02/06/karl-lagerfeld-on-adele-the-greek-crisis-and-m-i-a-s-middle-finger-updated/|archive-date=3 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Adele responded that she is like the majority of women, and she is very proud of that fact.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/adele-hits-back-at-lagerfeld-s-too-fat-comment-1.765361|title=Adele hits back at Lagerfeld's 'too fat' comment|newspaper=CTV News|access-date=20 February 2012}}</ref> Lagerfeld later caused another controversy, on 31 July 2012, when he criticised [[Pippa Middleton]], the sister of [[Catherine, Princess of Wales]], for her looks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/9443067/Karl-Lagerfeld-I-dont-like-Pippa-Middletons-face.html|title=Karl Lagerfeld: I don't like Pippa Middleton's face|last=Furness|first=Hannah|date=1 August 2012|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/omg/chanel-designer-karl-lagerfeld-pippa-middleton-article-1.1126515|title=Karl Lagerfeld blasts Pippa Middleton: 'She should only show her back'|date=1 August 2012|work=Daily News|location=New York }}</ref>

His caricature drawing ''Harvey Schweinstein'', that shows film producer [[Harvey Weinstein]] as a pig, was criticised as [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] and [[Dehumanization|dehumanizing]].<ref>[http://schmid.welt.de/2017/11/11/der-mensch-als-schwein-karl-lagerfelds-skandaloese-zeichnung/ Der Mensch als Schwein. Karl Lagerfelds skandalöse Zeichnung]. ''Die Welt'', 11 November 2017. (in German)</ref> He sparked controversy by criticizing German Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]]'s [[Wir schaffen das|immigration policy]] during the [[European migrant crisis]] by saying, "You cannot kill millions of Jews and then take in millions of their worst enemies afterwards, even if there are decades [between the events]", and by accusing her to have thereby caused the rise of the party [[Alternative for Germany]] (AfD).<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/fashion-designer-cites-holocaust-in-slamming-merkels-refugee-policy/ Citing Holocaust, Karl Lagerfeld says Germany is taking in Jews' worst enemies]. ''The Times of Israel''. 14 November 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/leute/karl-lagerfeld-hasst-die-bundeskanzlerin-fuer-ihre-fluechtlingspolitik-a-1207160.html Karl Lagerfeld "hasst" die Bundeskanzlerin]. ''Der Spiegel''. 10 May 2018. (in German)</ref> In May 2018, during an interview with French newspaper ''Le Point'', Lagerfeld mentioned that he was contemplating giving up his German citizenship due to the one million Muslim immigrants that had been accepted into Germany by Merkel, a decision to which he attributed the increase in [[neo-Nazism]] in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Friedman |first=Vanessa |date=17 May 2018 |title=Karl Lagerfeld, Fashion's Shock Jock |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/fashion/karl-lagerfeld-renounce-german-citizenship.html |access-date=2 May 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In a 2019 interview with French magazine ''[[Numéro]],'' Lagerfeld dismissed the [[MeToo movement|#MeToo movement]] and stated, "If you don't want your pants pulled about, don't become a model. Join a nunnery, there'll always be a place for you in the convent".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=29 April 2023 |title=Why the 2023 Met Gala's Karl Lagerfeld Theme Is Problematic |url=https://time.com/6275632/why-the-met-galas-karl-lagerfeld-theme-is-controversial/ |access-date=2 May 2023 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref> He also criticized newly instated regulations in photo studios and modeling agencies enacted to protect young models, stating that they were "too much" and as a designer, "you can't do anything". Lagerfeld also defended stylist [[Karl Templer]], who was accused of sexual misconduct and stated that although he could not stand Harvey Weinstein, his distaste for him was of a professional nature.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reed |first=Sam |date=13 April 2018 |title=Karl Lagerfeld On #MeToo: "If You Don't Want Your Pants Pulled About, Don't Become a Model!" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/karl-lagerfeld-metoo-comments-you-don-t-want-your-pants-pulled-don-t-become-a-model-1102596/ |access-date=2 May 2023 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

Lagerfeld said in 2007 that his controversial persona was an act.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web |date=20 February 2019 |title=The controversial genius of Karl Lagerfeld |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47303921 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>