French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, have filed a defamation lawsuit in the U.S. against right-wing podcaster Candace Owens.
The couple accuses Owens of spreading “verifiably false and devastating lies” that Brigitte was born a man and waging a “campaign of global humiliation.”
The 219-page lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Delaware Superior Court, seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.
Highlights
- Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron filed a 219-page defamation lawsuit in Delaware against Candace Owens over false claims about Brigitte's gender.
- Owens allegedly spread a baseless conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux.
- Owens denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit an attack on First Amendment rights.
It accuses Owens of ignoring evidence disproving her claims and instead amplifying them for profit and notoriety.
The Macrons have sued Candace Owens for publishing ‘lies’ about the French first lady
Image credits: Alberto Pezzali/Getty Images
The lawsuit begins by noting that Owens stated on X in March 2024 that she would “stake [her] entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron, 72, is in fact a man.”
“This campaign was designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families while garnering attention for Ms. Owens,” the Macrons said in a joint statement released by their lawyers.
“We gave her every opportunity to retract these claims, but she refused.”
Owens, who has millions of followers across X and YouTube, has repeatedly promoted the conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux, who is Brigitte’s brother.
She also produced an eight-part series titled Becoming Brigitte, which the lawsuit cites as evidence of her “relentless efforts to humiliate and defame” the French first lady.
Image credits: Beata Zawrzel/Getty Images
“Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history — twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade,” the complaint says. “The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale.”
In addition to the gender-based claims, the lawsuit says Owens spread other “outlandish and defamatory” allegations, including that the Macrons are blood relatives committing incest and that President Macron, 47, was chosen as part of a CIA-operated MKUltra program, a covert CIA mind-control and chemical interrogation research program.
“These claims are demonstrably false, and Owens knew they were false when she published them. Yet, she published them anyway,” the Macrons state in their suit. “And the reason is clear: it is not the pursuit of truth, but the pursuit of fame.”
Image credits: The New York Times
The lawsuit also includes examples of Owens profiting from the controversy, such as selling a T-shirt featuring a fake Time magazine cover naming Brigitte Macron “Man of the Year.” The shirt reportedly sold out after Owens promoted it online.
“This is nothing new for Owens. She has built a brand on provocation, not truth,” the lawsuit states. “Owens labels herself as an independent ‘investigative journalist’ while routinely peddling misinformation under the guise of legitimate reporting ... Her content is not intended to inform but to inflame and attract attention through sensationalism and conspiracy theories.”
A spokesperson for Owens responded to the lawsuit in a statement to People, saying, “Candace Owens is not shutting up. This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist.”
In her podcast on Wednesday, Owens said, “This lawsuit is littered with factual inaccuracies,” and is part of an “obvious and desperate public relations strategy” to smear her character.
Candace Owens regularly discusses her belief in the conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was born a man
Image credits: Jason Davis/Getty Images
Owens also said she did not know a lawsuit was coming, though lawyers for both sides had been communicating since January.
To win a defamation suit in the U.S., public figures like the Macrons must prove that Owens acted with “actual malice.” This would entail proving that Owens knowingly spread false statements or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Brigitte Macron has also initiated legal action against journalist Xavier Poussard, accusing him of “cyber harassment” linked to his book Becoming Brigitte, which discusses the claim of Brigitte Macron’s transgender identity. Owen’s podcast series was largely based on Poussard’s book and research.
He was reportedly summoned on July 21, 2025, to appear before Italy’s cybercrime unit in Milan, the journalist confirmed on X.
Image credits: CandaceOwens/X
The lawsuit comes amid Brigitte Macron’s ongoing legal efforts in France to combat similar claims. She previously filed a libel complaint against influencers Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey for claims in 2021 that she was born a man.
In September 2024, a French court ruled in Brigitte Macron’s favor, though that decision was overturned on appeal earlier this month. She has since appealed the ruling to France’s highest court.
The Macrons have been frequent subjects of public fascination due to their 25-year age difference. The two met when Emmanuel was a 15-year-old student at a Catholic school where Brigitte taught drama. They married in 2007.
For now, the Macrons say their lawsuit aims to end Owens’ campaign of misinformation.
“It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and put an end to this campaign of defamation once and for all,” their statement said.