Brigitte Bardot’s widower criticizes auction of her belongings in Paris — Asharq Al-Awsat
In Paris, Bernard d’Ormale, the widower of French actress Brigitte Bardot, criticized a planned auction of her personal belongings organized by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for animal protection. As reported by Asharq Al-Awsat, the sale of more than 300 lots is due to take place on Monday at the Drouot auction house.
Items put up for sale include portraits, toiletries, a flamenco guitar and a black tutu. D’Ormale called the auction “a joke” and said that selling the actress’s personal belongings was disrespectful to her memory.
Dispute over Bardot’s belongings
According to d’Ormale, about three-quarters of the lots come from Bardot’s Paris apartment, while the rest come from her famous La Madrague house in Saint-Tropez. He believes that these items should have been preserved as part of the actress’s legacy until visitors are able to visit La Madrague.
Bardot’s widower also said that she would not have agreed to the sale of her belongings to raise funds for the foundation she created. At the same time, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation rejected the criticism, saying that its board approved the auction in June. D’Ormale, who was the foundation’s president, was also a member of the board at that time.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
D’Ormale explained that he did not understand that such personal belongings of Bardot would be put up for auction.
Change in the foundation’s leadership
The dispute arose several days after Bernard d’Ormale was removed from the post of head of the foundation, which he had held since Bardot’s death in December. He remains a member of the organization’s board and complained that he no longer has unrestricted access to La Madrague, where, he said, he lived for 35 years.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation was founded by the actress in 1986. The organization says it has cared for 13,000 animals through four shelters and 150 partner institutions, supports 350 groups in France and operates in 70 countries.
