Film director and luxury fashion designer Tom Ford is the latest celebrity to rile up both supporters and detractors of President Donald Trump, and it’s not even his fault. A since-deleted tweet by Twitter user @fras99 (who, for what it’s worth, appears to be anti-Trump) went viral on Monday with a quote mistakenly attributed to Ford about allegedly refusing to dress First Lady Melania Trump.
“Who likes Tom Ford?” the tweet asked. “Tom Ford refuses to dress Melania Trump: ‘I have no interest in dressing a glorified escort who steals speeches and has bad taste in men.'” Unfortunately those on both the left and the right fell for it, as you can see in a few of the screenshots that were shared below, including one from 50 Cent.
😆Fuck Gucci , Im wearing Tom Ford💰LOL #lecheminduroi #bransoncognac pic.twitter.com/bDCW9IYaip
— 50cent (@50cent) March 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/fuckburberry/status/1107977720909058048
As are many things on the internet however, it was a hoax.
The actual quote by Ford, who has dressed A-listers such as Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Tom Hanks, Ryan Gosling, and Will Smith, actually came from a 2016 episode of The View, shortly after Trump won the election.
Ford did admit to having refused to dress Melania several years prior, but because she’s not his “image,” which … compared to Beyoncé and Gwyneth, the then-Celebrity Apprentice star’s model wife was indeed not in the same league. However, he also stated that had Hillary won the election, he wouldn’t be dressing her either.
“I was asked to dress her quite a few years ago and I declined. She’s, uh, not necessarily my image … the First Lady, other than the fact that I’m a Democrat and voted for Hillary, and I’m very sad and disappointed that she’s not in office. But other than that, even if Hillary had won she shouldn’t be wearing my clothes, they’re too expensive. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, they’re not artificially expensive, it’s how much it costs to make these things, I think to related to everybody.”
Ford did admit that he dressed Michelle Obama once, but it was for a visit to Buckingham Palace to have dinner with Queen Elizabeth, which was a more appropriate situation.
As it often goes, the knee-jerk reaction of some Trump supporters online was to ham-fistedly declare that they were boycotting Ford’s brand — but as many others pointed out, the average Trump supporter (or American, for that matter) can’t afford Tom Ford clothing in the first place.
https://twitter.com/Loveshipstan/status/1107966646457720833
seeing all these MAGAts saying they're returning/destroying their Tom Ford stuff 😂 pic.twitter.com/LO3SHjvfIw
— LT (@LoLivesAbroad) March 19, 2019
People who burnt up their 10 dollar Walmart Nikes and about to boycott Tom Ford found out how expensive that shit be. pic.twitter.com/c4FU0QOp5v
— Hao (@Hao_73) March 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/ZeinaZeynab/status/1107993322310828032
The MAGA folks boycotting Tom Ford know he doesn’t make the trucks, right?
— T.R. Morley (@TheRealMorley) March 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/YeshaCallahan/status/1108005481245638658
Trump fans saying they aren't going to buy "any more" Tom Ford stuff.
Dudes you would have to sell your house & truck and then maybe, MAYBE you could afford a pair of socks , possibly a scarf. pic.twitter.com/MQfPCNYyqh
— Pochassic (@Pochassic) March 19, 2019
#MAGA supporters are at Ford Dealership like “I don’t want no damn Tom Ford u hear me bubba” 😂 #TomFord
— Snapper Fruge (@snapper_fruge) March 19, 2019
MAGAs: "I'm never getting Tom Ford again! Let's boycott his ass!"
Tom Ford: pic.twitter.com/r8Ly5WfMwo
— 𝕔𝕛 ⎊ 🪩 (@LemonadeBeystin) March 19, 2019
Either way, it’s a reminder that we could all still do a little more due diligence when it comes to sharing out-of-context quotes.