The designers of Dolce and Gabbana fired back on Elton John and called the British singer "fascist, ignorant, unenlightened, and unwilling to tolerate any views that differ from his own."

PinkNews cited a published interview of designer Steffano Gabbana by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: "‘I didn't expect this. I didn't expect this, coming from someone whom I considered, and I stress ‘considered,' an intelligent person like Elton John."

"It's an authoritarian way of seeing the world - agree with me or, if you don't, I'll attack you. I even posted the word ‘Fascist!'' on his Instagram," said Gabbana.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana also claimed that Elton John is suppressing their rights to express themselves freely. "I mean, you preach understanding, tolerance and then you attack others because someone has a different opinion? Is this a democratic or enlightened way of thinking? This is ignorance, because he ignores the fact that others might have a different opinion and that theirs is as worthy of respect as his."

Meanwhile, the Telegraph reported that politicians in Italy slammed Elton John's boycott of the Dolce and Gabbana comparing the boycott to the attitudes that led to the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Elton John was enraged over Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana statement referring to babies born through IVF or surrogacy as "synthetic". The designers contended that children should be raised in a "traditional" family unit.

"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 fulfil their dream of having children. ... #BoycottDolceGabbana," countered the singer/songwriter on Instagram.

Elton John, who married David Furnish last year, has two sons born to a surrogate mother. The singer-songwriter also called the designers "archaic" and said he would "never wear Dolce and Gabbana again". He then called for a others to boycott Dolce & Gabbana.

Among the celebrities who supported Elton John's call were Martina Navratilova, Victoria Beckham, and Courtney Love. The Guardian reported that Beckham tweeted a message  of support to Elton John's "children and all the beautiful IVF babies", while Navratilova said she was throwing her D&G clothes in the bin.