That tension became visible almost immediately online. Grammy-winning singer Chappell Roan initially paid tribute to Bardot, calling the French star an inspiration for her song Red Wine Supernova. Within hours, Roan reversed course after learning more about Bardot’s history of racist and anti-LGBTQ+ remarks. “I do not condone this,” Roan wrote, distancing herself from the actress’s views and acknowledging she had been unaware of Bardot’s record.
Brigitte Bardot’s rise as a global cinema and fashion icon
Born into an upper-middle-class Catholic family in Paris in 1934, Bardot began her career as a ballet dancer and Elle magazine cover model. Her life changed when she met director Roger Vadim, whom she married at age 18. Together, they crafted the “Bardot myth.” Her breakout role in the 1956 film And God Created Woman shattered traditional moral codes. Vadim intentionally used the film to challenge Christian morality, presenting Bardot as a woman who pursued pleasure without guilt.
Throughout the 1960s, Bardot collaborated with legendary directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle. Her filmography includes classics such as Contempt (1963) and Long live Mary! (1965). While critics often dismissed her acting talent in favor of her physical appearance, intellectuals like Simone de Beauvoir defended her. De Beauvoir described Bardot as a “hunter” in the game of love, representing a new, autonomous female identity. By the time she retired from acting in 1973 at the age of 39, she had starred in over 40 films and recorded several hit albums.
Bardot’s politics
After leaving the film industry, Bardot shifted her focus to animal rights, but her public persona took a dark turn. She became closely associated with France’s far-right National Front party. Her fourth husband, Bernard d’Ormale, served as an advisor to the party’s founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Between 1997 and 2008, Bardot was convicted five times in French courts for “inciting racial hatred.” These charges stemmed from her public attacks on the Muslim community, whom she frequently referred to as “invaders.”
In her 2003 book, A Cry in the SilenceBardot expanded her targets to include the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and modern art. Her rhetoric became a staple of French political discourse, marring her reputation as a pioneer of freedom. Legal records show she was fined thousands of Euros for her comments, which judges ruled went beyond free speech into the realm of discrimination. Even as President Emmanuel Macron praised her on Sunday as a “legend of the century,” the shadow of her legal history looms over her artistic contributions.
Despite the intense political controversy, Bardot’s work for animals remains a significant part of her legacy. She sold her personal jewelry and belongings to fund the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which continues to operate as a major force in global animal protection. She famously campaigned against the hunting of baby seals and the consumption of horse meat, leveraging her fame to change international laws.Bardot’s life was a study in contradictions: she was a woman who sought sexual freedom but rejected the rights of others to live freely. As the world reflects on her 91 years, she remains a polarizing figure—a pioneer of the sexual revolution whose later years were defined by the very intolerance her early work seemed to oppose.