French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, initiated a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday in the U.S. against American right-wing influencer and podcaster Candace Owens. The suit stems from Owens’ allegation that France’s First Lady is biologically male.
The Macrons allege in their 200-page complaint, filed in Delaware’s Superior Court, that Owens has orchestrated a deliberate and malicious “campaign of global humiliation” aimed at boosting her podcast and fan base through falsehoods.
Among the claims disputed by the Macrons is that Brigitte Macron, 72, was originally named Jean-Michel Trogneux, a name that actually belongs to her elder brother. They contend this is a deliberate fabrication.
Brigitte, who was a high school teacher in 1993 when Emmanuel Macron was her student at age 15, married the French leader in 2007 after years of partnership. Their relationship has long attracted public scrutiny due to their notable age difference.
According to the complaint, Owens in January released a podcast series fixated on their relationship. The eight-episode production included controversial commentary and conspiracy theories, including antisemitic claims.
In one segment, Owens asserted she believes Emmanuel Macron is a homosexual who was groomed from a young age, and that his wife, Brigitte, is the individual responsible. She claimed Brigitte transitioned from male to female in her 30s, and accused the French government of orchestrating a cover-up.
Owens also stated on her podcast that the couple are blood relatives committing incest and that Macron’s presidency was engineered through MKUltra, a now-defunct CIA mind-control program from the 1970s. These statements, the complaint claims, were made without evidence and intended to cause harm.
Beyond the podcast, Owens used social media to amplify her accusations. She declared online that Macron violated the law by marrying Brigitte, whom she continues to identify as male, alleging the union was illegal at the time.
The Macrons argue that Owens has intrusively dissected their lives, distorting their appearance, relationships, and history into an offensive narrative. They described her rhetoric as calculated bullying on an international scale.
In response, Owens dismissed the lawsuit as factually flawed and a transparent attempt to discredit her. Her spokesperson called it a move by a foreign government to undermine her First Amendment rights, stating that Brigitte Macron had refused all prior interview requests. The Macrons, however, maintained in their joint statement that they had asked Owens three times to retract her defamatory claims, but she refused leaving legal action as their only recourse.
