Elton John Calls for Boycott of Dolce & Gabbana Over Gay Families Remark

Legendary – and legendarily outspoken – singer Elton John took to Instagram this weekend to call for a boycott of Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (better known by their brand, Dolce & Gabbana), following the designers’ recent comments about the normalcy of gay families.

“How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic’. 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,” John wrote in an Instagram post Saturday.

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

The designers, both gay themselves, caused an uproar when they explained their preference for conservative social traditions in an interview with Italian outlet Panorama published earlier this week.

“We oppose gay adoptions. 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,” they said, according to English translations.

“You are born to a mother and a father – or at least that’s how it should be,” Dolce added. “I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Uteri [for] rent, semen chosen from a catalog.”

Former tennis star Martina Navratilova, who recently married her girlfriend, tweeted her own surprise. “Wow – I had no idea. It will be interesting to see if this ridiculousness hurts them in the bank,” she wrote.

The designers’ comments are not new: “I am opposed to the idea of a child growing up with two gay parents,” Gabbana told an Italian newspaper in 2006,according to The Guardian.

On Sunday, Gabbana responded to the criticism by flooding his Instagram feed with messages of support that he had received from fans. In one post, the designer posted a collage that included a shot of John posting “Je Suis Charlie” image. He wrote:

“#boycottdolcegabbana because is different! And you hate the different opinion!! Racist Dictators. Freedom to speak”

This article was originally published at PEOPLE.com