Singer Chappell Roan found herself at the center of controversy after making a post about French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot.
Bardot passed away on Sunday (December 28) at the age of 91. She was best known for portraying liberated women in films such as And God Created Woman and Contempt during the 1950s and 1960s.
After she retired from acting in 1973, she drew attention for her far-right views and hateful remarks, targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community and the supposed “Islamization of French society,” as well as the #MeToo movement.
Fans urged Chappell Roan to delete an Instagram post about the late French actress Brigitte Bardot
Image credits: chappellroan
Bardot even faced legal consequences for her comments and was ordered to pay multiple fines.
Fans of Chappell Roan know she is not one to stay quiet about issues she considers unfair.
The 27-year-old, who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, has previously confronted a paparazzo over what she called “disrespectful” red carpet behavior and told a different photographer to “shut the f**k up” after he yelled at her at the VMAs last year.
This is why many people were surprised by her tribute to Bardot, which did not express any disagreement with the late actress’ views.
In her Instagram stories, Roan wrote, “She was my inspiration for Red Wine Supernova. Rest in peace Ms. Bardot.”
In the opening line of the song, released in 2023, the Missouri-born star sings, “She was a Playb*y, Brigitte Bardot/She showed me things I didn’t know.”
Many were surprised to see the 27-year-old paying tribute to the actress, who was known for her hateful rhetoric
Image credits: chappellroan
As her tribute made the rounds on social media, fans questioned why she had chosen to honor an actress whose views were completely at odds with her own.
“Chappell Roan posting that about Brigitte Bardot is insane like has nobody informed her the entire time she’s been singing Red Wine Supernova that Bardot was notoriously hateful?” one fan asked, adding, “Gay people we gotta do better.”
“The concept of a queer pop anthem being inspired by an openly homophobic person,” noted another.
“Your inspiration was a racist woman? Interesting,” read a separate comment.
“Oh she’s cancelled,” wrote someone else, while another user advised, “Chappell baby there’s still time to delete this….”
Many fans jumped to the singer’s defense, blaming her PR team for failing to inform her about Bardot’s history of discriminatory remarks.
“I think you are being purposely obtuse if you think Chappell posting a tribute to Brigitte Bardot means she endorses a single one of those views she had rather than her not being aware of them,” suggested one fan.
Amid the backlash, Roan, whose real name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, deleted the tribute and posted another Instagram story clarifying that she was unaware of the star’s conservative views.
“Holy sh*t I did not know all that insane sh*t Ms. Bardot stood for,” the Hot to Go! singer wrote. “Obvs I do not condone this. Very disappointing to learn.”
Roan later deleted the tribute, saying she was “disappointed” to learn about Bardot’s controversial public statements
Image credits: chappellroan
Bardot appeared in a total of 47 films throughout her life, becoming one of France´s best-known actresses and an international pop culture icon.
But the Parisian was also known for her far-right views on a range of issues, including immigration, the role of women in Hollywood, and LGBTQ+ rights.
In 1992, she married Bernard d’Ormale, a former adviser to the far-right Front National, which is now the National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen.
Bardot was fined multiple times by the French government after being found guilty of inciting racial hatred due to her criticism of Muslims in France.
“My land is again invaded by an overpopulation of foreigners, especially Muslims,” she wrote in her 1999 book Le Carre de Pluton.
Bardot reportedly had to pay $5,800 for her xenophobic rhetoric.
Bardot, who rose to fame as a pop culture icon in the 1960s, made several racist, xenophobic, and homophobic comments
Image credits: ARNAL/Getty Images
In 2006, she wrote a letter to the then-Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, in which she criticized the Muslim festival of Aid el-Kebir and claimed that the Muslim population in France was “destroying our country by imposing its acts.”
In her 2003 book, Un Cris dans le Silence, the late actress made homophobic remarks, referring to the LGBTQ+ community as “fairground fr*aks” and accusing its members of contributing to the “destruction” of French culture.
The late actress attacked the #MeToo movement and paid six fines after being found guilty of “inciting racial hatred”
Image credits: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, which saw many actresses come forward with allegations against predators in Hollywood, Bardot made headlines again when she dismissed their accusations as “hypocritical, ridiculous, and uninteresting” in an interview with Paris Match.
“Many actresses flirt with producers to get a role. Then when they tell the story afterwards, they say they have been harassed … in actual fact, rather than benefit them, it only harms them,” she said.
“Imagine not doing research on someone you claim is your inspiration,” one person wrote
Image credits: Guiltyasjoao
