French film icon Brigitte Bardot has slammed Hollywood actresses who complain of sexual harassment, saying “in the vast majority of cases” it is “hypocritical, ridiculous and uninteresting”.
In an interview with Paris Match, Bardot said: “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.”
International cinema’s best-known sex symbol also said that she had never been a victim of sexual harassment, and explained “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.”
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
Bardot becomes the second high-profile French film industry figure to come out in recent days against the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment in the entertainment industry. On 9 January it emerged that Catherine Deneuve had signed an open letter criticising a “puritanical … wave of purification” and that “the liberty to seduce and importune was essential”.
Deneuve later apologised to victims of sexual assault, saying that others among the signatories had “distort[ed] the spirit of the text”.
Bardot retired from acting in 1973 after a 20-year career, becoming arguably international cinema’s best-known sex symbol after starring in a string of hits, including And God Created Women, La Vérité and Le Mépris.
Since her retirement, Bardot has been active in animal welfare issues as well as being an outspoken supporter of the National Front. During the French election in 2017 Bardot supported Marine Le Pen, and repeatedly criticized the former Rothschild banker Emmanuel Macron, describing him as a psychopath with “cold, steel eyes” and a “total lack of empathy“.
