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Animal lover Brigitte Bardot (1966): »I have the looks of a human and the soul of an animal«
Photo: INA/Getty Images
My friend Henriette lived in the Balkans for a while and brought back a lot of interesting things from there.
For example the street dog Lenni, a black mongrel male who could be described as "lively".
In Germany, his Bosnian street credibility was interpreted as unguided vitality – which brought the stray into his first intensive course with a dog trainer.
In addition to Lenni, my girlfriend also brought the cat Rocco and his Mini-Me Ben.
Both fought for the regiment in the house after the move.
So Henriette had a lot on her plate, but took it with humor.
"One day we'll all be like Brigitte Bardot," she said of her growing private zoo.
I nodded, having just acquired a new tomcat to fill the nest my children are increasingly leaving.
Compensation, of course.
But also great fun.
Yuki is a real cracker, white with blue eyes and overly long hind legs like a kangaroo.
He likes to sit in the sink and scratches our sofa with great devotion.
When he's lying on the flokati, he's so well camouflaged that you almost step on him.
Unlike my numerous animal rescue friends, I buy my cats because I don't trust myself to heal traumatized shelter residents.
So I'm anything but a BB.
Thank God.
La Bardot!
Militant seal rescuer and fighter against the agonizing slaughter and skinning of animals.
Once a sex symbol and French Marianne, she gave up acting in the mid-1970s, sold all her valuables and put the money into an animal welfare foundation.
"I have the appearance of a human and the soul of an animal," said the 87-year-old in an interview.
Well, whatever it is inside an animal's head, I doubt we as humans have access to it.
In general, I think that animals should not be humanized too much and that concepts such as the soul should be imposed on them.
But BB is sure: Humans are not capable of sincere love, whereas animals are faithful to the end of their lives.
Her animals helped her survive cancer and depression, she said.
Marine Le Pen and her six Bengal cats
No question, animals can have this helpful, therapeutic effect.
And they can be clingy.
But why deny these qualities to humans?
That sounds disappointed and hurt.
In the case of Bardot, you can't shake the feeling that someone is using the animal for their own purposes, despite all the positive things that result from their commitment.
After the difficult birth of her son, the actress said she was unable to take care of the child.
That happens.
However, the sentence was said: "I would have preferred to have given birth to a dog." She later regretted it and put it into perspective: "I should have only thought about it, but not said it."
That sounds awesome.
But not everyone who does good does only good.
The past few years have shown that the Bardot's love of animals is at least as great as the resulting hatred.
To hunters, whom she called “subhumans” in Nazi jargon.
To the residents of Reunion Island, which she described as "degenerate" because they abused dogs and cats.
The animal cruelty was due to the "genes of the savages," the "barbaric traditions," she said.
She had to pay multiple fines for such racist polemics.
The former sex symbol complained about a "hypocritical and ridiculous" #MeToo debate and the alleged Islamization of France.
In 2012, she supported Marine Le Pen in the presidential campaign.
Her husband Bernard d'Ormale was a long-time advisor to the far-right Front National.
BB is a true right winger, and her dedication to the creatures in distress cannot hide that.
The dispute over hunting is huge: nowhere else in Europe are there as many hunters as in France – around 4.3 million have a hunting license.
There are always hunting accidents, in the past season alone there were seven fatalities.
The topic divides the public – the clientele, however, is interesting for political parties.
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The right-wing newcomer Éric Zemmour – also known as Vladimir Zemmour because of his understanding of Putin – uninhibitedly curry favor with the armed electorate.
The shot backfired, however, and he only got around seven percent of the votes in the election at the weekend.
The Bardot - though taken with Zemmour's Save France rhetoric - accused him of being cold-hearted towards animals.
And turned back to her old friend Le Pen.
It also has close ties to Russia.
But at least six Bengal cats in her house.
Le Pen got more than 23 percent of the vote in the election at the weekend - her recently moderate appearance as a savior of the poor seems to have paid off.
Now she is going into the runoff election against President Emmanuel Macron with good forecasts.
"Animals don't think about the past or the future, they live in the present without asking questions," says Brigitte Bardot.
Of course it's convenient.
I have no idea what Yuki is thinking.
But that he doesn't ask questions is not true.
He asks for food, entertainment and affection.
And pretty loud.
He talks a lot more than me anyway.
And has great, non-verbal answers ready.
When I ask him what he thinks of Putin, he chokes up a piece of cat grass.
If I ask what a victory for Marine Le Pen in the run-off election could mean for Europe, he looks at me skeptically and retreats into his cave.
