Galliano says anti-Semitic remarks were worst thing he ever said

LONDON, June 5 (UPI) -- British fashion designer John Galliano says his infamous anti-Semitic tirades were "the worst thing" he has ever said.

Galliano, 52, was fired from his job as the head of the Dior fashion house after he made racist remarks on two separate occasions in a Paris cafe.

The designer told Vanity Fair magazine he is not a racist and blamed his actions on drug and alcohol addiction. He said he underwent treatment at an Arizona rehab and has been sober for two years.

"It's the worst thing I have said in my life, but I didn't mean it," he told the magazine of the anti-Semitic insults he expressed in 2010 and 2011. "I have been trying to find out why that anger was directed at this race. I now realize I was so... angry and so discontent[ed] with myself that I just said the most spiteful thing I could."

The BBC said Galliano has been largely shunned by the fashion world and has been keeping a low profile since his outbursts made headlines. He has been working, however, creating Kate Moss' wedding dress and collaborating with designer Oscar de la Renta.