Domenico Dolce Apologizes For Anti-IVF, Anti-Gay Adoption Remarks

Italian fashion designer Domenico Dolce of Dolce & Gabbana has apologized for controversial comments he made opposing gay adoption and in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

“I’ve done some soul-searching,” Dolce told Vogue in an interview published Friday . “I’ve talked to Stefano a lot about this. I realized my words were inappropriate, and I apologize.”

The designers, who are both openly gay, came under fire in March  when Dolce told Italian magazine Panorama "we oppose gay adoptions" and "the only family is the traditional one."

He also made disparaging remarks about children born via IVF procedures.

“You are born to a mother and a father, or at least that’s how it should be,” he said . “I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalog.”

The significant public backlash included a call for Dolce & Gabbana boycott from Sir Elton John. Both designers initially defended the comments .

"We talked about our way of seeing reality, but it was never our intention to judge other people's choices,” Gabbana said in an Instagram post at the time. “We do believe in freedom and love."

Dolce made similar statements, saying he was only “talking about my personal view” and “the reality in which I grew up.”

Speaking to Vogue this month, however, both designers expressed a more thorough change of heart.

“They are just kids,” Dolce told the magazine. “You don’t need labels, baby labels. I think everybody chooses for themselves. I don’t know everything about IVF, but I love it when people are happy. It’s like medicine. Science has been put on the table to help people.”

Contact the author of this article at Hilary.Hanson@huffingtonpost.com .