Furious Macron slams Brazilian leader Bolsonaro for mocking his wife Brigitte's looks on Facebook: 'Extraordinarily rude'
French President Emmanuel Macron called Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro "extraordinarily rude" after the latter appeared to mock the French first lady's appearance, according to reports.
The incident came to light after a Bolsonaro supporter posted a meme on Facebook mocking the 66-year-old Brigitte Macron's looks. The meme unfavorably compared her to that of the 37-year-old Brazilian First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro. The meme's caption read: "Now you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?"
Shortly after the meme was posted, the Brazilian leader chimed in from his official account and wrote of the French president: "Do not humiliate the guy, hahaha."
The distasteful comment from the Brazilian president came in the wake of Macron slamming Bolsonaro's inaction amid the ongoing Amazon rainforest fires, which are spreading at a rapid rate. Macron, while tweeting about the blazes, had written: "Our house is literally on fire," as he called it a crisis and criticized Brazil’s management for it.
When Macron was asked about Bolsonaro's particular comment on social media at the G7 summit in Biarritz, the 41-year-old said that it was disrespectful and "sad."
“He has made some extraordinarily rude comments about my wife. What can I say? It’s sad. It’s sad for him firstly, and for Brazilians," the French president said on August 26, according to the Guardian.
"I think Brazilian women will probably be ashamed to read that from their president. I think that Brazilians, who are great people, will probably be ashamed to see this behaviour… And as I feel friendship and respect towards the Brazilian people, I hope that they will very soon have a president who behaves in the right way," he added.
The incident has escalated the clash between Bolsonaro and Macron, who called for the emergency G7 talks amid the international outcry over Brazil's response to the wildfires. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro, who has previously aired his skepticism on climate change, has blamed the fires on deforestation. The Brazilian leader also hit back at Macron calling for an international alliance to protect the Amazon, saying that the alliance would treat Brazil like a "colony."