Fashion designer Donatella Versace has been labelled an icon after she criticised Italy’s move to strip the names of non-gestational lesbian mothers from their children’s birth certificates.
On Sunday (24 September) at the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards, during Milan Fashion Week, Versace used her speech to condemn the right-wing government, and show her support for the trans community.
As she accepted the humanitarian award for equity and inclusivity, alongside by Italian left-wing politician and LGBTQ+ activist Alessandro Zan, she spoke passionately about the need to fight for freedom.
“Our government is trying to take away people’s rights to live as they wish, they are restricting our freedoms,” she said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The government has stripped people of the freedom to build a family, love who they want and live as they wish, Versace added.
“At a time when transgender people still suffer terrible violence, at a time when children of same-sex couples are not considered their children, at a time when minority voices are being attacked by new laws… we still have a lot to do.”
The audience responded with rapturous applause, and, speaking to Zan, she said: “Your voice is critical in our world, and I am here to support all that you fight for.”