Philippine fashion designer under fire for "creative outburst"

Mar 25, 2009, 5:04 GMT

   Manila - A Filipino fashion designer was under fire in the Philippines Wednesday for berating and insulting employees of a duty-free shop in a 'creative outburst' caught on video.

   Angelo Fajardo even demanded a cashier at the a duty free shop outside Manila's international airport to kneel for his forgiveness after his tantrum on March 13.

   Fajardo's flare-up, which was caught on a surveillance video, triggered public ire when the footage was uploaded on the popular video sharing site YouTube.

   In a bid to diffuse the outrage amid calls for a boycott of Fajardo's products, Ricky Rivera, Fajardo's spokesman, defended the fashion designer's behavior as a result of 'creative outburst.'

   'As a fashion designer, as an artist, sometimes he has creative outbursts maybe because of the fatigue he felt at the time of the incident,' Rivera said.

   The fracas erupted when the cashier asked for an identification card to support the credit card Fajardo used for purchasing several items at the store.

   Fajardo allegedly threatened to have the cashier fired unless he agreed to be slapped or he would kneel down. The cashier knelt down to satisfy the furious designer.

   The embattled designer issued a public apology late Tuesday about the incident and claimed that he was very sick and came from a long travel at that time.

   Despite the apology, the duty free's union members have vowed to file criminal complaints against Fajardo. They are even preparing a complaint against him before the Commission on Human Rights.