t is a terrible wasting disease, whose victims are all TV
personalities, movie actors or pop stars. The disease is believed to create
an imbalance in the brain, making its victims associate their fame with
omniscience, which in turn encourages them to become spokespersons and
activists for public campaigns and causes in which they have little or no
expertise.
Actors with plenty of free time seem to be particularly at risk. It is
usual for the victims to rely on their instincts and feelings when
supporting causes and to take little account of actual facts. Often the
victims are deluded into believing that their advocacy is a means to
"give something back to society" and in some cases it can add
lifestyle glamour to declining acting careers.
The syndrome draws its name from the first celebrity known to have
contracted the disease, French actress, Brigitte Bardot. She was infected
in the late 1970s and spent many years fighting to save seals from local
hunters on the eastern coast of Canada.
As with Bardot, the disease usually manifests itself as support for
extreme animal rights positions. Recent research has shown that actors’
portrayal of different characters makes them particularly vulnerable to
anthropomorphic tendencies, which some believe may indicate the onset of
the affliction.
Unfortunately, one of the unique characteristics of the condition is
that it cannot be detected by its victims, who can continue to campaign on
issues for many years. Ironically, this also means that public awareness of
Brigitte Bardot Syndrome is extremely low, because no celebrities have
campaigned to publicize its existence.
Victims are often preyed upon by fundraising businesses known as NGOs.
Fundamentalist groups such as PETA, WildAid and IFAW have traditionally
recruited celebrities to promote their campaigns because their arguments do
not stand up to critical public scrutiny. By appealing to vague ethical
notions of right and wrong articulated by stars, young adults in particular
can often be persuaded to make donations to "save" various
species that do not actually require saving.
Actors and pop stars do not typically display great discernment in the
field of morals and ethics and are regularly criticised for providing poor
role models for young people. In a further irony, while the celebrities
become mouthpieces promoting the saving of various species, it is they
themselves that really need to be saved.
There are several recent examples. JAWS author, Peter Benchley, came out
of the closet to save the sharks for WildAid. Traci Bingham of Baywatch
fame, charged a French restaurant and the Berlin streets, under the
umbrella of PETA to 
promote vegetarianism and save farm animals. Even the
present James Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan, was declared "positive"
after he started saving the whales on behalf of IFAW.
There is no known cure for Brigitte Bardot Syndrome and there are no
examples of victims who have renounced campaigns they once supported. The
only treatment that provides hope is for the afflicted to be educated about
the disease and the true facts behind the causes they sponsor. However, the
victims’ ego, built up by working many years in a profession that
generates adulation, prevents this treatment from taking effect. Moreover,
many journalists gush at Hollywood stories and their uncritical reporting
of the stars’ involvement in campaigns tends to reinforce the delusions
of the illness.
As knowledge about this "stardom disease" grows, the hope is
that it can be completely eradicated. Those smart enough to understand the
dynamics of the relationship between humans and animals are much less
susceptible to contract the disease. In the meantime, the afflicted should
be treated with kindness and understanding, but not respect.
