Tom Ford speaks out against fake quote about Melania Trump

As the newly named Chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Tom Ford is in a position of much influence over American fashion. So it is quite understandable that the Texan-born designer has spoken out against a viral Twitter rumor that accused him of calling the country's First Lady a "glorified escort."

A quote now deemed to be "fake news" began circulating Twitter on Monday after it was first shared in a now-deleted Tweet by user @fras99. The full Tweet had read: "Who likes Tom Ford? Tom Ford refuses to dress Melania Trump: 'I have no interest in dressing a glorified escort who steals speeches and has bad taste in men.'"

Though Ford has said publicly that he does not want to dress Melania Trump, both he and a spokesperson for his eponymous brand have responded to the viral quote, calling it "completely false."

“Never! Never, ever, ever, have I said that Melania was an escort,” Ford told WWD.

He reminded the publication that he had spoken to the television program "The View" before President Trump was elected that he would not dress either Melania Trump or Hilary Clinton, had Clinton been elected.

"The First Lady and the President in the White House need to be wearing clothes made in America — mine are not — and clothes at a price point that most Americans can relate to and my clothes are too expensive," Ford added.

Dresses in Ford's women's read-to-wear range retails between 1,990 and 15,000 dollars, with the most common price point around 4,000 dollars.

The designer concluded, "I’ve never said anything derogatory about Melania. I never would say anything derogatory. It’s so weird, isn’t it, in today’s world the way someone out of nowhere can just make up a random quote and start circulating it on the Internet?"