Karl Lagerfeld death: Jameela Jamil slams outpouring of grief for Chanel icon citing his Adele remarks and calls designer 'a fat-phobic misogynist'

Outraged: Jameela Jamil slammed the outpouring of grief for Lagerfeld
Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for DIAGEO
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Jameela Jamil has hit out at the outpouring of grief after the death of fashion world giant Karl Lagerfeld, slamming the comments he once made about singer Adele.

Actress Jamil said the designer, who died on Tuesday morning aged 85 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, was “talented for sure, but not the best person”.

She said the Chanel icon should not be hailed as a “saint gone-too-soon” and described him as a “misogynist”. She cited a remark in which Lagerfeld said Adele was “a little too fat”.

His death sparked a flurry of tributes from his many celebrity fans, with Stella McCartney, Kylie Minogue and Cara Delevingne among those to pay their respects.

Dead at 85: Fashion giant Karl Lagerfeld 
Reuters

However actress Jamil, who is currently starring in US sitcom The Good Place, instead shared a link to an article critical of Lagerfeld and tweeted: "I'm glad somebody said it. Even if it is a little soon.”

"A ruthless, fat-phobic misogynist shouldn't be posted all over the internet as a saint gone-too-soon. Talented for sure, but not the best person."

London-born Jamil, a former presenter for the BBC and Channel 4, later added that she planned to write an essay on the subject and said: "How problematic the industry has been for girls is too complex for this."

The reaction of Jamil, who is a prominent campaigner and advocate for women's body positivity, differed from those of her fellow celebrities.

Karl Lagerfeld - In pictures

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Model Delevingne said Lagerfeld's death had reduced her to tears. In a tribute posted to Instagram, she said the designer "changed my life".

She said: "He also introduced me to some of the most important and special people in my life. He is a visionary, a genius but more than that.... a dear friend. Outside of fashion, he was one of the most interesting and caring men I have ever met.

Lagerfeld once said Adele, pictured, was ‘a little too fat’
PA Wire/PA Images

"I am so lucky and grateful to have had him in my life, worked with him and been able to spend time with him.... Although now, I wish it had been more. His legacy will live on forever. I miss you more than I could ever try and describe. I wish I had been able to tell you how much you meant to me.

"I love you @karllagerfeld all I can say is thank for the bottom of my heart."

Lagerfeld had worked for Chloe and H&M, and was also an acclaimed photographer, having gone behind the lens for a number of high fashion magazines and for his own fashion campaigns.

Regarded as one of the most important fashion visionaries of the 20th and 21st centuries, he was known for regularly wearing sunglasses and a black suit with a white shirt, with his grey hair pulled back into a ponytail.

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