Chrissie Hynde recently criticized the fashion industry for their treatment of Brigitte Bardot following her death. She addressed the controversy in a statement shared on Instagram.
The Pretenders frontwoman specifically targeted Vogue magazine and other fashion publications for what she saw as their hypocritical stance toward the late French icon.
“Are you kidding me? Vogue magazine vilifying Brigitte Bardot the minute she died?” Hynde said. “Vogue magazine, and every fashion magazine in the world for that matter, owes more to Brigitte Bardot than any other human living or dead. She personified grace, elegance, beauty, glamour, style, and women’s rights.”
Hynde defended Bardot’s animal rights activism. She argued that political considerations should not overshadow her advocacy work.
“She was an animal rights activist and anyone who knows anything about animal rights knows that we will always side with the animal if it’s being tortured or abused in any way,” she continued. “Politics has nothing to do with it.”
The rock musician also took issue with terminology used to describe Bardot. She challenged the use of certain labels.
“And by the way, a ‘phobia’ is an irrational fear,” Hynde said. “I cannot imagine that Bardot had any irrational fears judging by the way she lived her life. Perhaps people working for Vogue magazine should buy themselves a dictionary.”
Hynde concluded by contrasting the fashion industry’s approach with that of rock musicians. She emphasized authenticity over manufactured image.
“I’m not even sure why anyone buys Vogue magazine but then I’m in the rock ‘n’ roll business,” she said. “We don’t use make up artists or stylists. If anything we just try to emulate our heroes, like Lemmy and Brigitte Bardot. They expressed themselves by the way they looked… they didn’t hire people to do it for them.”
Bardot died on December 28, 2025, at the age of 91 at her home La Madrague in Saint-Tropez, France. Her death was confirmed by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which announced with “immense sadness” the passing of its founder.
She had retired from film in 1973 to devote herself to animal welfare and activism after a prolific career in movies such as And God Created Woman and Contempt. French President Emmanuel Macron led national tributes, calling her a “legend of the century.”
She was laid to rest in a funeral service in Saint-Tropez on January 7, 2026, attended by family, friends and fans who gathered to honor her legacy both as a film star and as an animal rights advocate. Bardot will be buried privately in a seaside cemetery overlooking the Mediterranean.
