Dark Secrets About Karl Largerfeld

1. He had troubling views

Image Source / Vogue.com

When the Met Gala announced its theme this year that paid tribute to the legendary fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld, they were met with a mixture of reactions from the public and celebrities alike.  Some were in awe of the late icon, however, some expressed their disdain for their choice, citing their concerns about his controversial views and moments.

2. He criticized the #MeToo movement

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Amongst Karl Lagerfeld's most shocking moments was when he criticized the #MeToo movement and women for speaking out about sexual harassment and assault.  He said that he was "fed up" with the pro-woman movement and slammed women who came forward years after the alleged incidents took place.

3. He was highly misogynistic

Image Source / Tribune.com

When Karl Lagerfeld died in 2019, there was a huge outpouring of grief from celebrities and members of the public.  But there were many who criticized this grief, including Jameela Jamiil who said that he was a "ruthless, fat-phobic misogynist" who, despite being talented, shouldn't be praised as a saint by any stretch.

4. He made provocative remarks about celebrities

Image Source / Skynews.com

Celebrities were not even safe from Karl Lagerfeld's controversial views and unkind comments.  He commented on celebrities' looks and weight, including Adele, Heidi Klum, Seal, and Pippa Middleton to name a few.  And even the Princess of Wales, Lady Diana wasn't safe from his comments.

5. He was fat-phobic

Image Source / Reddit.com

Karl Lagerfeld's work was largely exclusive and considering his choice of models for his collections and shows, he seemed to only approve of one body type (we won't say which).  And he shamelessly made his fat-phobic views extremely clear on far too many occasions.

6. He body-shamed Adele

Image Source / Goodhousekeeping.com

He even made comments about Adele, in one breath praising her angelic singing voice but then in the next saying that "she's a little too fat".  In the interview with Metro, he also said that she had a beautiful face and, according to a source, claimed later on that his comments about her weight were taken out of context.

7. And Heidi Klum too!

Image Source / Huffpost.com

He even body-shamed model Heidi Klum too and said that she was "too heavy" and had "too big a bust" to be a runway model.  According to Vogue, he also said that he and Claudia Schiffer didn't know her and she was never known in France despite being one of the most famous models in the world!

8. He told models to "join a nunnery" for speaking out about sexual harassment

Image Source / Vox.com

Karl Lagerfeld even defended the stylist Karl Templer when he was accused of sexual assault.  And when models spoke out about being sexually harassed, he responded with the command to "join a nunnery".  He also said, according to Numero that you shouldn't become a model "if you don't want your pants pulled about"!

9. He criticized Germany for accepting Muslim immigrants

Image Source / Time.com

Karl Lagerfeld shared his extremely controversial views on a French talk show about Germany taking in Muslim refugees.  And on the same show and then a few days later, the fashion powerhouse made disturbing comments about immigration and also about Germany's past.

10. He called Princess Diana 'stupid'

Image Source / Royal.uk

Even the British monarchy wasn't safe from the scorn of Karl Lagerfeld.  In fact, the fashion designer once made hurtful and shallow comments about The late Princess of Wales, Princess Diana.  He said in an interview that she had a "pretty face" but then called her "stupid".

11. The late Princess of Wales was not the only British royal he insulted

Image Source / VanityFair.com

And of course, Princess Diana wasn't the only British royal Karl Lagerfeld insulted.  In fact, he also made comments about Kate Middleton, the current Princess of Wales' sister, Pippa Middleton.  He said that he liked Kate's "nice silhouette" and "romantic beauty" but doesn't like Pippa's face.

12. He mocked Seal too

Image Source / FoxNews.com

And it wasn't just women he seems to hate.  He made hurtful and nasty comments in an interview with The Sun in the UK about Seal's appearance too, commenting particularly on the iconic 'Kiss from a Rose' singer's facial scarring which was caused by lupus when he was a teen.

13. He lied about his date of birth

Image Source / Stylefrizz.com

Karl Lagerfeld was quite untruthful about his age too.  Whether he forgot when he was born, or he had some problem with aging, we don't know, but in one interview he said he was born in 1938, and then in another, 1935.  When in actual fact, he was born in Hamburg on September 10th, 1933!

14. He celebrated his 70th birthday when he turned 75

Image Source / Glamourmagazine.co.uk

So he had to keep up this lie about his age in some way, despite being caught out once or twice.  And he actually celebrated his 70th birthday when he turned 75.  In an interview in 2009, ten years before he died, he insisted that no one really knew his birth date... Mysterious...

15. He admitted to having no human feelings

Image Source / GQ-Magazine.co.uk

It's no surprise that Karl Lagerfeld had absolutely no compassion for others.  You can see that just from reading and hearing his interviews.  And in an interview before one of his fashion shows, he was asked by Vogue Magazine how he was feeling.  His response: "I have no human feelings" - that explains it!

16. He's the No.1 enemy of PETA

Image Source / Peta.org

The Chanel and Fendi designer made fur coats his specialty and therefore made many powerful enemies with lots of animal rights groups, including Peta.  In fact, the UK director of Peta at the time, Mimi Bekhechi actually publically called him an undertaker.

17. He had a diet of 10 cans of Diet Coke a day

Image Source / Karlismyunkle.com

Karl Lagerfeld seemed to be obsessed with weight, and not just the weight of the models that worked for him or the celebrities that he body-shamed.  He was also particularly obsessed with his own weight and at one point in his life, he lived off a diet of 10 cans of Diet Coke a day to help him ward of his hunger pangs so he could lose weight.

18. He said he would marry his cat if he could

Image Source / theguardian.com

Yes - you read that right.  He did once say that if it were legal anywhere that he would marry his cat, Chapouette, in a heartbeat.  He absolutely doted on his cat who was given to Lagerfeld by the model Baptiste Giabiconi.  In fact, Chapouette had a personal maid, a private jet, a book, a product line, a social media presence, and a Wikipedia page.  And many celebs dressed as cats at the 2023 Met Gala, including Jared Leto and Doja Cat.

19. Chapouette spent her life licking his facial hair

Image Source / People.com

Karl Lagerfeld said that he shared his pillow with his beloved feline friend, Chapouette.  And when he grew out his goatee, he called them whiskers and said that Chapouette actually maintains it for him, "spending her life licking it".  As well as saying he wanted to marry his cat, he also wanted his ashes scattered with her if she died first.

20. His cat inherited his fortune

Image Source / People.com

Karal Lagerfeld didn't have any children himself, but he did have a godson.  And then there's Chapouette.  He said that when he died, Chapouette would get most of his fortune which is possible in German law, along with 'others' who we might assume would be his godson.  Imagine what a cat could do with nearly $200 million!

21. He hid behind his dark glasses

Image Source / Vogue.com

Karl Lagerfeld always wore his dark glasses, even on a dark runway.  He once said in an interview that he didn't want to show anyone his emotions through his eyes.  It was clear that he didn't want other people to read his thought and emotions so he could remain mysterious.

22. He was obsessed with weight

Image Source / Refinery29.com

Lots of his controversial comments were about weight and weight seemed to be on his mind when he was designing and creating his shows.  Take the exclusivity point for example, it was clear that only one body type was acceptable for him, otherwise, he wouldn't work with any model that didn't fit into his mold.

23. He was sued for his fat-phobic comments

Image Source / E!Online.com

He offended a lot of people around the world with his fat-phobic comments and in France, Vogue Magazine reported that one women's group actually filed a defamation case against the Chanel designer for his frequent fat-shaming and fat-phobic comments about notable celebs, including Adele.

24. He perpetuated exclusivity in the fashion industry

Image Source / HarparsBAZAAR.com

Love him or hate him, the truth is that Karl Lagerfeld had a huge impact on the fashion industry, for the good and for the bad.  He did significant work for Fendi and Chanel and is still one of fashion's biggest names.  However, there was some damage done as he perpetuated exclusivity and a 'certain' body type that was deemed acceptable in fashion.

25. He said that feminists were 'ugly'

Image Source / Reddit.com

Karl Lagerfeld made Chanel what it is today, and he worked closely with Coco Chanel before she died.  So when reporters asked the designer about Coco Chanel, about whether she was a still feminist or not, he said that he didn't think so because she was "never ugly enough for that".

26. He spoke about Lana Del Rey's "implants"

Image Source / Hellogiggles.com

Another notable individual in the firing line of Karl Lagerfeld was Lana Del Rey.  He said in an interview with Metro that the 'Born To Die' singer was beautiful but commented on "all her implants" questioning whether she was a construct - whatever that means...

27. He even criticized Andy Warhol

Image Source / Latimes.com

Karl Lagerfeld also made extremely harsh comments about the artist Andy Warhol and admitted that he really should say what he said.  In fact, he made brutal comments about Warhol's appearance, stating that he actually found him "quite physically repulsive".

28. His response to people who criticize unhealthy beauty standards in the fashion industry was harsh

Image Source / NYTimes.com

There is a healthy conversation nowadays about the unhealthy beauty standards in the fashion industry and the lengths that models have had to go to in order to fit the mold are brutal and physically harmful.  And it has a knock-on effect on women and young girls in the world.  But Lagerfeld responded to these arguments, stating that it was "fat mothers with their bags of chips ... saying thin models are ugly".

29. He sent flowers to an accused rapist

Image Source / Vogue.co.uk

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund and in 2011 he was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York.  Karl Lagerfeld sent flowers to him at the time because he said that he felt sorry for Strauss-Kahn, stating that he didn't believe he was guilty.

30. His collection of images of Claudia Schiffer sparked racial controversy

Image Source /

Vogue.co.uk

Claudia Schiffer is one of Karl Lagerfeld's main muses and in 2010, the German model was accused of racial insensitivity after Lagerfeld's photographs of her emerged.  In the collection, the Schiffer was made up as a black woman.  Critics said that there are not enough women of color in mainstream magazines and you cannot counter the problem using white women.