Chappell Roan has deleted a tribute to late actor, singer and animal activist Brigitte Bardot.
“Holy shit I did not know all that insane shit Ms. Bardot stood for,” Roan wrote on her Instagram Story.
“Obvs I do not condone this. Very disappointing to learn,” she added.
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The original tribute, shared shortly after Bardot’s death, was brief. “Rest in peace Ms. Bardot,” Roan wrote. “She was my inspiration for ‘Red Wine Supernova.’”
The reference connects directly to the opening lines of Roan’s track — “She was a playboy, Brigitte Bardot/She showed me things I didn’t know” — which nod toward Bardot’s enduring image as a symbol of mid-century sexual liberation. Bardot rose to international fame following her breakthrough role in 1956’s And God Created Woman, becoming one of cinema’s most recognisable figures before retiring from acting in 1973.
In later decades, Bardot shifted her public focus toward animal rights activism. However, those efforts were frequently eclipsed by repeated controversies tied to her public statements and political positions. In her 2003 memoir, she made derogatory remarks about LGBTQ+ people and criticised what she described as the “Islamisation of French society,” leading to legal consequences.
Bardot was convicted and fined for inciting racial hatred in France on five separate occasions. In 2018, she again drew widespread backlash after dismissing the #MeToo movement. Speaking with Paris Match, she described women who spoke out about abuse in the film industry as “hypocritical,” adding, “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.”
Roan has not issued further comment beyond her Instagram clarification, but the incident has reignited broader conversations around historical cultural figures, artistic influence, and the responsibility of contemporary artists when referencing contested legacies.
