Bardot’s first and perhaps most famous scorn was directed at the very medium that made her a global phenomenon. After filming about 50 movies, she retired at just 38, famously stating that the film industry "suffocated and destroyed" her. She didn't just quit acting; she dismissed it as a vain and superficial endeavor.

In her final years, she became a vocal critic of the #MeToo movement. In an interview with Paris Match, she labeled actresses who complained of sexual harassment as "hypocritical, ridiculous, and uninteresting," suggesting that many "tease" producers to land roles. This stance alienated her from modern Hollywood and a younger generation of fans who once saw her as a symbol of sexual liberation.

Modernity and the "Agony of France"

In her final book, Mon BBcédaire (My BB Alphabet), published just weeks before her death in late 2025, Bardot delivered a scathing indictment of modern France. She described her country as "dull, sad, submissive, ill, ruined, and vulgar." Her scorn extended to almost every facet of the 21st century:

• The LGBTQ+ Community: In her 2003 book A Cry in the Silence, she notoriously referred to certain members of the community as "fairground freaks," despite later claiming she was surrounded by gay friends.
  
  

• Feminism: Bardot repeatedly rejected the feminist label. In her final TV interview, she shouted a firm "No!" when asked if it was possible to be a feminist while liking men, viewing the movement as an attack on traditional masculinity.
  
  

• Immigration: Her most severe legal troubles stemmed from her disdain for immigration. She was convicted six times for inciting racial hatred, primarily targeting the Muslim community for what she called an "invasion" and criticizing ritual slaughter practices.
  
  

Fellow Celebrities: The Fur Feud

Bardot’s advocacy for animal rights was her "sole cause," but it often manifested as vitriol toward her peers. She famously scorched Sophia Loren for wearing fur, accusing the Italian icon of wearing a "cemetery on her back" and accepting "blood money." This unwavering moral absolute made her a pariah in high fashion circles, yet it solidified her as a legendary figure in the animal welfare movement.

Her foundation, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, became her life’s work. She once said, "I gave my youth and my beauty to men; I am giving my wisdom and my experience to animals." For Bardot, the suffering of a voiceless animal was the only thing that could move her to tears, while the "suffering" of humans often met her cold indifference.

Family and Motherhood

Perhaps the most personal area of her scorn was motherhood. Bardot never hid her resentment toward her only son, Nicolas Jacques Charrier. In her 1996 memoir, Initiales B.B., she compared her pregnancy to a "cancerous tumor" and expressed a visceral disgust for the process of birth. The fallout led to a successful lawsuit by her son and ex husband, marking a permanent fracture in her personal life that never truly healed.

The Final Verdict on an Uncompromising Life

Brigitte Bardot died much like she lived: in her own secluded sanctuary in Saint-Tropez, surrounded by animals rather than people. Her legacy is a paradoxical tapestry. She was the face of the French Republic (Marianne) and a symbol of 1960s modernity, yet she ended her life as a far right provocateur who despised the very "modernity" she helped create.

To her supporters, she was a patriot and a saint for the animals. To her critics, she was a xenophobic relic of a bygone era. Regardless of the viewpoint, one thing is certain: Brigitte Bardot never apologized for her scorn. She lived on her own terms, fiercely defensive of the creatures she loved and relentlessly critical of the humans she didn't.