Sex object, animal rights activist, racist: the paradox that was Brigitte Bardot
A fantasy figure for men and women, a victim of press intrusion, a defender of animals … the French actor was also a mouthpiece for racial hatred whose views grew uglier over timeBrigitte Bardot inspired many fantasies, from the wanton, panting reveries of assorted French auteurs in the 1950s and...
<p>A fantasy figure for men and women, a victim of press intrusion, a defender of animals … the French actor was also a mouthpiece for racial hatred whose views grew uglier over time</p><p>Brigitte Bardot inspired many fantasies, from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmqv88jWhyE">wanton</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Zw4LeSt2w&t=34s">panting</a> reveries of assorted French auteurs in the 1950s and 60s, to the perky-nippled <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/style/brigette-bardot-france.html">bust</a> created in 1969 as a model for Marianne, the embodiment of the French Republic itself.</p><p>With her death on 28 December, another more contemporary Bardot illusion was shattered. The singer Chappell Roan, responding to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/28/brigitte-bardot-french-screen-legend-and-animal-rights-activist-dies">Bardot’s passing</a> at 91, posted a photo of the actor in her beehived prime on Instagram, saying she had inspired her song Red Wine Supernova and writing": “Rest in peace Ms Bardot.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/04/sex-object-animal-rights-activist-racist-paradox-brigitte-bardot">Continue reading...</a>
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