Brigitte Bardot denounces feminism and MeToo movement: “Feminism is not my thing”
French cinematic icon Brigitte Bardot has hit out at feminism and railed against the MeToo movement in her first interview in more than a decade.
Bardot, aged 90, has largely withdrawn from public life since retiring from the screen in 1973. Since then, she has mainly devoted her career to charity work within the animal rights sector through the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.
During a rare interview with French broadcaster BFMTV on May 12th, Bardot spoke in depth about her devotion to charity work over the last 50 years and commented on the MeToo movement, which is currently a huge topic in French cinema.
“Feminism is not my thing,” Bardot shared. She continued: “People with talent who grab a girl’s bottom are thrown into the bottom of the ditch. We could at least let them carry on living. They can’t live any more.”
The former star of stage and screen also claimed that any male actor who has been through allegations of this nature “won’t find much work”.
Her comments were given on May 12th, a day before French actor Gérard Depardieu was convicted of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021. He was found guilty of groping a set designer and an assistant on the movie Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) when they filmed the production in 2021. He denied the allegations.
In addition to receiving an 18-month suspended sentence, Depardieu has also been fined €20,000 (£16,850) and placed on the sex offenders’ list.
Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the lawyer acting for the two women, told reporters outside of the French court: “It’s a victory for two women on a film set but it’s a victory for all the women behind this case and I’m thinking of all of Depardieu’s other victims.”
Depardieu is yet to respond to the verdict.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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