Media Eye News Bureau: Brigitte Bardot is the second French film personality after Catherine Deneuve to criticize women involved in campaigns such as #MeToo and its French equivalent, stating that majority of the sexual harassment protesters are 'hypocritical' and 'ridiculous’ and that, most of the cases are ‘uninteresting.’
Bardot elaborated in an interview that, “Many actresses flirt with producers to get a role. Then when they tell the story afterwards, they say they have been harassed (which) in actual fact, rather than benefit them, it only harms them.” She added, “I thought it was nice to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a pretty little ass. This kind of compliment is nice,” as she stated that she had never been a victim of sexual harassment.
She is the second high-profile French film industry figure to speak out against the campaign, #BalanceTonPorc (Squeal on Your Pig), the French equivalent to #MeToo. It was previously reported that Catherine Deneuve had signed an open letter criticising the movement as well by stating that it was a ‘puritanical wave of purification’ and that the ‘liberty to seduce and importune was essential.’ However, Deneuve later apologised to victims of sexual assault and that, others among the signatories had, ‘distort[ed] the spirit of the text.’
After a 20-year career, Bardot retired from acting in 1973. She starred in hits, including And God Created Women, La Vérité, Le Mépris among others. She has been active in animal welfare issues and has also been a supporter of the National Front. However, she has also been convicted in French courts for racial hatred offences and has paid a series of fines for the same.
