Designer duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana did a ‘U’ turn on March 18 in an exclusive interview with CNN, according to New York DailyNews. Dolce and Gabbana have been in the centre of a controversy over their comment in Italian magazine Panorama about children conceived through in vitro fertilization, terming such babies “synthetic”. Their comment has drawn the backlash of celebrities worldwide with singer Elton John leading the campaign.

However, in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, Dolce said his views on IVF were private, personal beliefs based on his sense of a traditional Sicilian family. Their comments have sparked a spat on social media with Elton John asking people all over to boycott the brand. Celebrities who joined the bandwagon raged a war include singer Ricky Martin, Courtney Love, “American Horror Story” creator Ryan Murphy, actor Dan Bucatinsky, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, Andy Cohen, Sharon Stone and Al Roker. The designers since then released a statement saying that their remarks were merely “personal views” and that they “did not judge other people’s decisions”.

Dolce and Gabbana’s remarks drew the ire of a cross section of people on social media as the duo is also gay and were a couple earlier. Gabbana went on to explain that they were not telling people how to lead their lives. He said that they were gay, loved gay couple and were for gay adoption as well. He added that what they had told earlier were their personal point of view.

Dolce on the other hand told CNN he was not boycotting the artist: “I love the music of Elton John.” He added that they could end the dispute by talking it out, because he felt when people start talking everything can be resolved. The designer duo told that in a democratic society everyone is free to choose what they want, besides having a personal opinion which should also be respected. At the end, Gabbana told that they should have expressed themselves properly using better language in their interview with Panorama. Besides, they were apparently upset over the boycott of their clothes and other products.

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