NEED TO KNOW
Brigitte Bardot is setting the record straight.
In a post to her X account, Bardot dispelled rumors that she had died. According to The Daily Mail, Bardot’s announcement comes after influencer 27-year-old Aqababe, whose real name is Aniss Zitouni, 27, said in a since-deleted social media post that Bardot was dead.
Bardot responded in a Wednesday, Oct. 22 post written in French on X: “I don’t know who is the idiot who started this “fake news” about my disappearance but know that I am doing well and I have no plan on taking my bow. A word to the wise.”
Bardot’s statement comes nearly a week after French newspaper Var-Matin reported that the actress, 91, was hospitalized in Toulon, France, for almost three weeks.
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X
The outlet reported that Aqababe said in their since-deleted post that they had “exclusive information” about Bardot’s alleged death.
“Her coffin was ordered in Saint-Paul-de-Jarrat in the 09 (Ariège) department. An icon has passed away, leaving behind an unforgettable legacy and an eternal imprint on the hearts of the French,” the deleted post claimed, per The Daily Mail.
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Following Bardot’s response, Aqababe stood by their original statement, claiming that it is not Bardot who runs her account on X.
“I deleted my exclusive tweet about Brigitte Bardot’s death. It’s not her who manages her Twitter, you’ll see when the AFP officially announces the death,” Aqababe’s post written in French on X reads.
Representatives for Bardot did not respond to PEOPLE’s previous request for a comment on the actress’s condition. PEOPLE reached out to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
Var-Martin reported on Oct. 16 that Bardot had undergone surgery at a private hospital “as part of a serious illness.”
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Although sources at the time told the outlet that Bardot’s condition was “worrying,” they indicated she was expected to be released and return to her home in St. Tropez in the following days after a nearly three-week-long hospitalization.
On Friday, Oct. 17, Bardot’s office said in a statement to the French news agency AFP, via Reuters, that Bardot’s “minor surgery” had gone well.
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Bardot reportedly thanked the staff and surgical team at the Saint-Jean Private Hospital in Toulon in the statement and said she was resting at home.
