Brigitte Macron apologises for calling activists ‘stupid bitches’ in a private video, sparking a social media storm and feminist criticism.
PARIS: France’s first lady Brigitte Macron has apologised for using a slur against activists that sparked a feminist backlash.
The 72-year-old told the media outlet Brut she was “sorry if I hurt women victims,” calling the remarks caught on video “private” comments.
She added that she could not regret them, stating she is “above all” herself and can “let myself go” in private.
Brigitte Macron was referring to her description of activists who disrupted a December 7 stand-up show she attended.
Speaking backstage to the French actor Ary Abittan, she had called the activists “stupid bitches”.
When the video was published the next day, the hashtag #SalesConnes trended on social media.
High-profile actors including Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard subsequently used the hashtag in posts.
Despite efforts by her office to present the slur as a “radical method” of criticism, the backlash did not ease.
The collective Greve Feministe, comprising around 60 feminist groups, had demanded a public apology.
The activists at the comedy show wore masks of Abittan bearing the word “rapist” and shouted “Abittan rapist”.
The actor and comedian was accused of rape in 2021 by a woman alleging a nonconsensual sexual act.
Investigators dropped the case against him in 2023, and an appeals court upheld that decision in January.
France has been rocked by a series of accusations against well-known cultural figures post-#MeToo.
Screen icon Gerard Depardieu was convicted in May of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021.
He is to stand trial charged with raping an actor in 2018 and denies any wrongdoing.
President Emmanuel Macron said in 2023 that Depardieu was the target of a “manhunt”. – AFP
