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Sir Elton John calls for Dolce & Gabbana boycott

Also in Tattle: What went wrong with ‘Fashion Police,’ ‘Cinderella’ scores, Taylor Swift scratched

Elton John performs on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2015 on December 31, 2014 in New York City.
Elton John performs on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2015 on December 31, 2014 in New York City.Read more

TATTLE ISN'T SURE if this battle should be considered internecine or intergayscene, but Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, whose high-end fashions were brought to the mainstream by "Sex and the City," have ticked off Sir Elton John.

Sir Elton has called for a boycott of the designers after they criticized gay adoption and gay parents having children via in vitro fertilization. In an interview with the Italian magazine Panorama, D&G labeled babies born via IVF as "synthetic children."

Dolce and Gabbana, themselves gay, were a longtime couple before splitting a decade ago. One would also think that as designers they would have a better understanding of what "synthetic" means.

"How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic,' " Sir Elton wrote on Instagram. "And shame on you for wagging your (judgmental) little fingers at IVF - a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfill their dream of having children.

"Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions," he catcalled. "I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana."

In a translation of D&G's comments in the London Telegraph, the pair said: "The only family is the traditional one. No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed."

D&G backtracked a little yesterday: "We believe firmly in democracy and we think freedom of expression is essential for that," Gabbana said in a statement. "We talked about our way of looking at the world, but it was not our intention to express a judgment on other people's choices. We believe in freedom and love."

Perhaps coincidentally, D&G's new collection celebrates motherhood and pregnancy.

'Police' problems

Tattle could write a whole column about what's gone wrong with E!'s "Fashion Police" since the death of host Joan Rivers, but Kathy Griffin summed it up fairly well during a Friday-night stand-up show in Connecticut.

"It just didn't work out. That's it - that's the scandal," she told her audience, according to TMZ.com.

"I just am surprised that people are so invested in this show," Griffin said. "But I shouldn't be because" the late Joan Rivers, whom she ostensibly replaced, "was so incredible and amazing, and it just wasn't the right thing for me."

Exactly. Even though Kathy is an heir to Joan, she's a storyteller not a joke-teller, as Joan was. She was also a contemporary to too many of those critiqued and not a feisty older icon who could get away with screaming, "Comb your hair!" "Wear a bra!" "Shave your pits!"

And for all of Joan's alleged meanness, she had cachet with the fashion world. She'd made designers household names with her red-carpet interviews, was a fixture at runway shows and had designed jewelry and clothing lines for QVC. Kathy had none of that.

For the show to now work, it either has to take on a more analytical tone, or be anchored by a quippy comic who just doesn't give hoot (we still say Wanda Sykes) or a catty stylist who's good with a one-liner.

TATTBITS

* "Cinderella" (with some help from a "Frozen" short) won the weekend box office with a whopping $70.1 million.

The audience for "Cinderella" was 66 percent female, distributor Disney said.

Old Cinders also took in $62.4 million overseas, including $25 million in China.

* After rumors last week that Taylor Swift was looking to insure her legs for major bucks, Swift yesterday posted a photo of a big, red scratch across her thigh, with text aimed at her cat.

"Great work Meredith. I was just trying to love you and now you owe me 40 million dollars."

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

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On Twitter: @DNTattle