Dior pulls ads with Sharon Stone after her offensive remarks offended Chinese consumers, who represent the largest growth potential for the luxury industry.

Fearing a possible boycott of its products in China, LVMH-owned Christian Dior announced that it had dropped Stone from its advertising in China, saying it didn’t agree with Stone’s “hasty, unreflecting remarks”.

“We absolutely do not support any remark that hurts the Chinese people's feelings,” the fashion label said in a released statement, in which they also apologized to the Chinese customers.

 

At the Cannes film festival, Ms. Stone gave a television interview saying she is "not happy" about China's treatment of Tibet, where violent protests broke out in March. "And then this earthquake happened," Ms. Stone said. "And I said, 'Is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?'"

Quickly trying to patch up the damage, Sharon Stone referred to her words during the interview as inappropriate and expressed her sadness and regret for “hurting Chinese people.”

Stone also added she was willing “to take part in the relief work of China’s earthquake” and to help “affected Chinese people.”

Earlier this month, Chinese consumers organized an Internet campaign that called for a boycott of products made by Louis Vuitton -- which, like Dior, belongs to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA Chairman Bernard Arnault -- after protests by pro-Tibetan activists when the Olympic torch passed through Paris, Wall Street Journal said.

The powerful earthquake in China killed around 70,000 people, according to preliminary reports. Another 23,150 are also missing. More than 420,000 homes collapsed leaving approximately 5 million people homeless. 

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