Dolce and Gabbana: why celebs are boycotting the fashion brand

Elton John has called for a boycott of the fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana after the two designers said gay couples should not have children.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who are both gay and were a couple in the past, said same-sex couples shouldn't have children and criticised the use of IVF and surrogate mothers. "You are born to a mother and father – or at least that’s how it should be," said Dolce.

"I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalogue," he added, according to the BBC.

Elton John, who has two children with his husband, David Furnish, led calls to boycott the fashion brand on social media. "Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions," he said on Instagram.

#BoycottDolceandGabbana soon began trending on Twitter, with celebrities and parents of IVF children coming together to condemn the fashion designers.

Sending love to Elton David Zachary Elijah & all the beautiful IVF babies x vb

— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) March 16, 2015

Dear #DolceAndGabanna. I'm sorry you feel the way you do. Here are my much loved synthetic kids. #IlovemyIVFkids pic.twitter.com/WV3alcKDPa

— Alice Evans (@AliceEvansGruff) March 15, 2015

.@dolcegabbana ur voices R 2powerfull 2B spreading so much h8 http://t.co/30Oe2hcxNt Wake up,Its 2015 Luv urselves guys #boycottdolcegabbana

— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) March 15, 2015

The pair has since issued a statement in response to the backlash. "It was never our intention to judge other people's choices. We do believe in freedom and love," said Gabbana. Dolce added that they were expressing their personal views "without judging other people's choices."