Brigitte Bardot: Former Face of French Cinema and Current Face of Bigotry

By: Beverly Abellanosa

Idolized by many, Brigitte Bardot is widely regarded as a paramount popular culture icon who continues to remain relevant with each generation. Bardot first catapulted into stardom with the 1956 film And God Created Woman directed by Roger Vadim. The film cemented her status as a sex symbol rivaling the likes of Marilyn Monroe.

Following Bardot’s film career, she gained notoriety for her views on Islam, the LGBT+ community, and the #MeToo movement and has been fined by the French government five times for inciting racial hatred.

As the years have passed and society has grown to hold celebrities accountable for their actions it is baffling that someone as blatantly bigoted as Bardot continues to be hailed as an icon.

The Controversy Surrounding Brigitte Bardot

Brigitte Bardot’s comments on Islam

In her 1999 book, Le Carre de Pluton (Pluto’s Square), Bardot wrote an “Open Letter to My Lost France” in which she grieves her homeland for being “invaded by an overpopulation of foreigners, especially Muslims.”

In 2003 Bardot published her second book, Un Cri Dans Le Silence (A Scream in the Silence) in which she warned of an Islamic takeover of France.

“Over the last twenty years, we have given in to a subterranean, dangerous, and uncontrolled infiltration, which not only resists adjusting to our laws and customs but which will, as the years pass, attempt to impose its own.”

The book also went on to display her abhorrence towards racial mixing. Bardot goes on to praise previous generations who “have given their lives to push out invaders.”

Bardot was fined 30,000 francs (approx. 4,600 euros) in June 2000 for her remarks in Le Carre de Pluton as well as in 1997 and 1998 for similar remarks.

In 2004, Bardot was convicted for a fourth time by the French government for inciting racial hatred.

In 2008, she was once again convicted of inciting racial/religious hatred after she sent a letter conveying her disdain for Muslims to the former Interior Minister of France Nicolas Sarkozy.

The letter stated that she was “fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country, and imposing its habits.” She was fined 15,000 euros, making this her largest fine to date.

Brigitte Bardot’s comments on the LGBT community

Un Cri Dans Le Silence not only railed against Muslims but the LGBT+ community as well. In her book, she compares her gay companions to the modern LGBT+ community who “jiggle their bottoms, put their little fingers in the air and with their little castrato voices moan about what those ghastly heteros put them through.”

Bardot even went as far as to say that some “contemporary homosexuals behave like fairground freaks.”

After widespread public outcry to her views against the community, Bardot attempted to defend herself by stating that she is “entirely surrounded by homos. For years, they have been my support, my friends, my adopted children, my confidants.”

Brigitte Bardot’s comments on the #MeToo movement

Bardot remained relatively dormant until 2018 in which she dismissed the #MeToo movement by stating that many of the actresses’ claims are “hypocritical, ridiculous, and without interest.”

She went on to say that “lots of actresses will try to play the tease with producers to get a role and then they say they were harassed. I was never the victim of sexual harassment. And I found it charming when men told me that I was beautiful or I had a nice little backside.”

Bardot’s comments are a reminder that we, as a society, must hold influential people accountable for their actions rather than idolize them because of their aesthetic.

Brigitte Bardot biopic series

Brigitte Bardot, the iconic French actress, remains a subject of fascination as France prepares to broadcast a highly anticipated series about her life. The show, “Bardot,” delves into Bardot’s rise to fame, which played a significant role in reshaping gender relations, sexuality, and fashion in post-war France.

This six-part series also offers a glimpse into a crucial period of French history, marked by the pursuit of freedom and the breaking of conservative barriers. Co-produced with Netflix and Mediaset, the program begins with Bardot’s upbringing in a conservative Parisian household and follows her journey as a film star and her romance with Roger Vadim, the director of her breakthrough film, And God Created Woman.

While French critics have applauded the series, Brigitte Bardot, who has not watched it yet, expressed her lack of enthusiasm, stating her desire to distance herself from what she called a “foolish biographical film.”

Brigitte Bardot today

Bardot currently leads a reclusive life in her residence overlooking the picturesque bay of Saint-Tropez. Known for her aversion to modern technology, she does not own a computer or even a typewriter.

Despite this, Bardot communicates with her fans and followers by sharing updates, letters, and her thoughts through handwritten letters posted on Twitter.