Brigitte Bardot, who died this week at the age of 91, was a tremendously influential figure in popular culture and, particularly, in the world of pop. We have seen, over the years, Britney Spears in 2003 or Duffy on the very cover of ‘Endlessly’, her 2010 album, emulate her style. Of course, Kylie Minogue’s homage in the era of ‘Body Language’ (2003) was explicit.
In recent days, publications have been in the spotlight that, on social networks, have chosen to remember Bardot with images of her youth instead of her old age, underlining that internalized ageism that still needs to be overcome. Bardot, of course, came of age very late and not without controversy. In her later years, Bardot had been known for her shift to the far right, attacking Muslims and gays alike. Retired from the screens in 1973, she dedicated her life to the defense of animal rights.
Not everyone was aware of Bardot’s controversial finals, which even earned her fines for racism from the French Republic itself. Among those who did not know was Chappell Roan, who did not hesitate to mourn the loss of Bardot on his social networks. “Rest in peace, Miss Bardot,” the artist wrote, attaching a heart emoji. Bardot is directly the great inspiration behind ‘Red Wine Supernova’, one of her biggest hits.
The gesture was short-lived for Chappell, as her fans have taken it upon themselves to remind her – rightly – that Bardot was known in her later years for racist, Islamophobic and homophobic attitudes, ideas with which Chappell does not agree at all, as she is famous for her activism in defense of LGBTQ+ rights and Palestine. The problem is that too many people have started to judge or even question their moral integrity for ignoring information that, certainly, was not available to so many people. Mostly, I dare say, since Bardot has not been such a relevant figure outside of France in recent years.
Many have criticized her for making a mistake, even for “not thinking before speaking”, as if Chappell Roan – or any other artist – had the obligation to study all the most recent press headlines about a public figure before posting about her (Roan has not been the only one singled out, it has also happened to the Instagram account @_stillwerise). And not even that: is criticizing the intolerant attitudes of the late Bardot incompatible with remembering her career and status as a pop icon? In any case, it is time to recognize the complexity of his legacy and understand that, as Xoel López sings in ‘Sombras chinas’, the idols we admire are illusions and that many times they fall like houses of cards, unfortunately.
Clearly hyper-vigilated by social networks, which do not forgive a false step – this is not one – and where there is no possible nuance, Chappell Roan has retreated from her mourning for Bardot, expressing her surprise at all this information that she did not know. “I had no idea about all those atrocities about Bardot,” he wrote. “Obviously, I don’t support anything she was saying. Very disappointing to hear all that.” Strangely, the queer magazine Out Magazine has reported that Chappell has “apologized” for his initial post, but Chappell has not exactly apologized, but has simply acknowledged having ignored that information.
That Chappell did not write the word “sorry” in his post is more significant than it seems. Basically, it means that Roan doesn’t owe anyone an apology for existing without knowing everything. It is – at the risk of becoming philosophical – the natural state of the human being, but social networks give many the power, from anonymity, to judge the lack of information of others – which is inevitable – as if they were human Wikipedias hitting the table with a mallet, omnipresent entities that know everything. The truth is, it’s exhausting.
It is clear that information is power and be careful, Bardot’s attitudes were absolutely reprehensible and unforgivable. In recent times, Bardot represented much of what is wrong in today’s society and deserves to be remembered by all her obituaries. But I am also sure that morally judging the humanity of others in terms of black or white, from that punitive and simplistic logic that networks allow, should not be the way either.
I’m sure Chappell Roan wouldn’t have published a story about Bardot if he had known all that information beforehand. Or perhaps I would have done it in a more informed way. I’m even convinced that Roan has learned something from all of this. But it is worrying – sinister even – that the networks practically paint her as an accomplice of Bardot’s ideas for the simple fact of… not having known something. We clearly live in the era of hypervigilance – as seen with the case of the Coldplay fan couple. The solution? Be informed. Chappell had no choice.
