Marie Antoinette’s “let them eat cake” is a misogynist lie The accusation had been thrown around to tar rulers as heartless since before Marie Antoinette was even born.

Late in her rule, Marie Antoinette certainly wasn’t a popular monarch. In fact, most everyone hated her — all over a silly, unforgettable phrase.

Well, it turns out that her seemingly justifiable execution wasn’t all that sweet…because she probably didn’t say something so snide after all.

That went downhill quickly

Marie Antoinette had a pretty crummy reputation near the end, but she certainly lived a sweet early life. The former queen rose to idol-status in her early teens, and people were willing to be crushed in crowds to get a glimpse of her. Epic, right? She also inspired countless artwork, fashion, and even had a fairytale village constructed for her. So why all the hate?

Unfortunately, her precious reputation wore away as she took on her position as Queen of France. One specific rumor tore her to shreds in the public’s eyes. Supposedly, when informed of how her French peasants were starving, she dismissively announced “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche,” or “Let them eat cake.” However, this doesn’t quite line up with the charitable queen’s character.

I don’t know, guys, she seems pretty nice

The final Queen of France may have grown up with the royal treatment, but she wasn’t a stuck-up jerk. In fact, Marie Antoinette was super charitable and often involved herself in philanthropy work. She relieved the public of an outdated “Queen’s Belt” tax, helped the aging and disabled, adopted suffering orphans, and often housed the homeless at her farm. Does this sound like a malicious ruler to you?

Sadly, Marie Antoinette became more disliked the more she instituted the kind of kinder and fairer social and economic practices that the people demanded. “Let them eat cake” was likely just one of many unfounded rumors attributed to her character. But where did the phrase actually originate?

Apparently, everyone was a jerk

The phrase “Let them eat cake” isn’t just some strange statement that was pulled out of thin air to crucify Marie Antoinette. She ultimately went down on a lump-sum of kooky charges — so why throw another obscure accusation in there?

Well, it was an accusation that had been thrown around since long before her time.

The same accusation had been appropriated to tar other hoity toity figures, such as Marie-Thérèse — another one of King Louis XIV wives — as well as other members of King Louis XIV’s family. It was also a line in Confessions, a novel by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, written when Marie Antoinette was only 10.

Marie Antoinette may have been guilty of vanity, but a heartless monster she was not.