Paris ( CNN ) -- Flamboyant fashion designer John Galliano went on trial Wednesday , accused of making anti-Semitic comments against at least three people in a Paris cafe . Galliano , who was fired by fashion giant Christian Dior in March after video surfaced showing him praising Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler , testified Wednesday that drugs were to blame . Judge Anne-Marie Sauteraud read out a list of the abuse Galliano is accused of hurling at Geraldine Bloch and Philippe Virgitti , including obscenities mixed with remarks about their ethnic backgrounds . `` He said 'dirty whore ' at least a thousand times , '' the judge said . Galliano said on the witness stand that he had no memory of making the comments . Asked to explain his `` lack of memory , '' he said : `` I have an addiction . I am currently undergoing treatment . '' Galliano 's attorney said before the trial began the designer `` was a sick person , who was suffering from addiction and this is something we are demonstrating through medical evidence , expert reports . '' `` We must not judge a man who for 30 years has been dedicated to diversity , who has been a loving person for all races , cultures and religions ... based on 40 minutes where he was sick through alcohol and medication , '' Aurelien Hamelle said . Galliano testified that he suffered from an increasing workload and no time to mourn after the 2007 death of his alter ego at Dior , designer Steven Robinson . `` With his death , I found I had no protection , '' Galliano said . His body became dependent on drugs , he said . `` I was taking sleeping pills during the day , '' he testified . `` I 've only just discovered since rehab what a lethal mix I was taking . '' Bloch testified Wednesday that she encountered Galliano on a crowded cafe terrace , which led to an angry exchange . `` I do n't remember his exact wording ; there were different phrases , '' Bloch told the court . `` It 's true that I was angry . I insulted him , too . '' Virgitti testified the confrontation , which he called `` just an argument in a bar , '' began when Galliano sat down next to his party at the cafe . `` He started speaking to us very quickly after arriving , '' Virgitti said . `` He told Geraldine to speak less as she was disturbing him . We did n't know what to do . The situation got worse . He started touching her hair , saying she had no hair . I told him , 'Do n't touch her . ' `` He acknowledged during his testimony that while Galliano `` said things he should n't have , '' the incident `` has been so overly played out in the media . '' Galliano faces a six-month jail term and a fine of 22,500 euros ( $ 32,410 ) if he is convicted , according to prosecutors . A verdict in the case did not come Wednesday . Galliano will be judged in one trial over two separate incidents , one in October and one in February . After the second incident , Galliano was taken to a police station where a test revealed he had a high level of alcohol in his blood , authorities said at the time . He was later released . The video is from yet another incident . He is not being tried for the incident because the couple involved chose not to press charges . `` I love Hitler , '' Galliano said in a video obtained by Britain 's Sun newspaper . `` Your mother , your forefathers would be f -- -ing gassed and f -- -ing dead . '' Christian Dior condemned his `` deeply offensive statements and conduct . '' French law prohibits the incitement of racial discrimination , hatred or violence based on a person 's origin or their membership -- or nonmembership -- in an ethic , national , racial or religious group . Galliano apologized after the video was released . `` I only have myself to blame and I know that I must face up to my own failures and that I must work hard to gain people 's understanding and compassion , '' Galliano said in a statement . `` Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society . '' Galliano has kept a low profile since his firing , but Vanessa Friedman , fashion editor of the Financial Times newspaper , said that given time , he could return to the industry . His career is over in its present form , she said . But he could return to Britain , where there is `` residual love for him , '' lay low and make a comeback in a few years , she said . `` People love a redemption story , '' Friedman said . CNN 's Saskya Vandoorne , Catherine Clifford and Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report .
Galliano testifies he was taking `` a lethal mix '' of sleeping pills . It was `` 'just an argument in a bar , '' 22,500 alleged victim says . Galliano says he ca n't recall making abusive comments . Geraldine Bloch faces a few years in jail and a fine of one euros if convicted .