French first lady Carla Bruni is "hurt" after her new album was mauled by critics.
The Italian wife of Nicolas Sarkozy released her latest LP,
As If Nothing Had Happened, on Friday. It includes a musical tribute to her husband, references to previous lovers and cocaine. The album was met with a frosty response from the media and public in France, with newspaper Liberation calling it a "pale copy of her first record".
And Bruni admits she is devastated, "Of course it hurts me, but I also find it quite natural. It's understandable that people can't help mixing up my work as an artist and my function. Maybe they feel offended by the fact the head of state's wife should make a record."