What is the Brigitte Bardot controversy? Here's why Chappell Roan and Apple Martin have deleted their tributes to the legendary French actress

Chappell Roan and Apple Martin have recanted their tributes for legendary French actress Brigitte Bardot after learning about her controversial political beliefs. The news of the death of the 91-year-old actress, who was an icon in French pop culture, came on December 28, 2025, resulting in an outpouring of grief, which included tributes from Roan and Martin.

Following the news of Bardot's death, Chappell Roan took to Instagram to pay tribute to the actress, whom she cited as the inspiration behind her song Red Wine Supernova.

However, the Pink Pony Club singer's statement was met with backlash, with many reminding Roan of Bardot's history of homophobic, racist, Islamophobic, and anti-feminist comments. Bardot was also fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred following her comments targeting France’s Muslim community.

Roan, known for her vocal support for the LGBTQ+ community and a lesbian herself, immediately deleted her tribute and posted another Instagram Story amending her statement, writing that she was unaware of the late actress's beliefs.

"i did not know all that insane s**t Ms. Bardot stood for obvs I do not condone this. very disappointing to learn," Roan wrote.

According to Vulture, Roan was not the only one to recant her tribute to Brigitte Bardot. Actress Odessa A’zion of Marty Supreme took to Instagram Story to share that she was "learning allot about Brigitte Bardot." Meanwhile, Apple Martin, the daughter of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow, also posted that she was "unaware of Bardots views" on Instagram Story, writing:

"I was completely unaware of Bardots views and will never support any kind of hatred directed at anyone. She is not the person I thought she was whatsoever."

Chappell Roan is not the only pop star to reference Brigitte Bardot in one of her songs in recent times. Olivia Rodrigo also sang about a woman being a "Bardot reincarnate" in her song Lacy, from her 2023 album Guts.

French actress Brigitte Bardot on the set of Don Juan ou Si Don Juan était une femme...(Image via Getty)

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An overview of Brigitte Bardot's controversial statements

Brigitte Bardot built a successful career as an actress in the 1950s and 1960s, acting in hits such as And God Created Woman, The Truth, and Contempt. In 1973, the actress retired to dedicate her life to the welfare of animals and founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986.

Despite her success as an actress, Bardot became well known for her controversial statements regarding various minority communities, including Muslims, gay people, and immigrants.

Since the late 1990s, Brigitte Bardot has been fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred following her remarks about the Muslim population in France. In her 1999 book Le Carre de Pluton, she criticized the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha for the slaughter of animals. Additionally, in an entry titled Open Letter to my Lost France, she also wrote that her homeland, France, was "again invaded by an overpopulation of foreigners, especially Muslims."

According to The Guardian, Brigitte Bardot continued to attack the Muslim community, gay people, teachers, and immigrants in her 2003 book, Un cri dans le silence (A Scream in the Silence). She wrote that she was against what she called the "Islamisation of France," adding that her ancestors "have for centuries given their lives to push out successive invaders."

She also wrote disparagingly about gay people, calling them "fairground freaks" and saying that they “jiggle their bottoms, put their little fingers in the air and with their little castrato voices moan about what those ghastly heteros put them through.”

Bardot was also against the #MeToo movement, which was called #BalanceTonPorc in France. During a 2018 interview with Paris Match, she dubbed the movement “hypocritical, ridiculous and uninteresting," claiming that many actresses "flirt with producers" to get roles.

“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...Me, I was never the victim of s*xual harassment and I found it charming when I was told that I was beautiful or I had a nice little backside. This kind of compliment is nice."

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Brigitte Bardot also disavowed herself as a feminist, saying "Feminism isn’t my thing; I like men," during her final TV interview on BFM TV in May 2025.

Edited by Juhi Marzia