France

Macrons Sue Candace Owens Over Transgender Claims

JUL 23 2025·Updated JUL 24 2025

Story

Above: French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron on June 11, 2021, in Cornwall, England. Image credit: Jack Hill/WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Facts

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a 22-count defamation lawsuit Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court against right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, alleging she spread "outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions" that Brigitte Macron was born male, among others.
Guardian
New York Post
The lawsuit centers on Owens' eight-part series "Becoming Brigitte" and related social media posts, which the Macrons claim falsely alleged that Brigitte was born as a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux, that the Macrons are blood relatives, and that Emmanuel Macron was part of a mind control program.
Reuters
www.ft.com
Owens, formerly of the conservative media outlet the Daily Wire, has 4.5 million YouTube subscribers and nearly 7 million followers on X, with her "Becoming Brigitte" series receiving over 2.3 million views on YouTube since its release in 2024.
BBC News
Reuters
The Macrons sent three retraction demands to Owens between December 2024 and this July, claiming to have provided Owens with evidence disproving her claims, which the lawsuit says she ignored.
CBS News
Daily Caller
Owens' spokesperson called the lawsuit "a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist" and stated she would address the matter on her show.
ABC News
The Hill
The Telegraph
The case faces a high legal bar under U.S. defamation law, requiring the Macrons to prove "actual malice," meaning that Owens knew her statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Two women who made the same allegations against Macron were cleared of defamation in French court this month.
Newsweek
Newsmax

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

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The Spin

Narrative A

Owens, once a respected conservative media figure, has gone off the deep end, with this lawsuit representing a clear case of defamation where Owens knowingly spread false information for profit. The Macrons provided irrefutable evidence disproving these claims, yet Owens doubled down. Her campaign has caused tremendous reputational damage and subjected the French first couple to global humiliation.

The Washington Examiner

The Daily Beast

Narrative B

This case threatens fundamental First Amendment protections for American journalists investigating public figures. Owens repeatedly requested interviews with Brigitte Macron but was ignored, forcing her to rely on available evidence and sources. Foreign governments shouldn't be able to silence American independent media through intimidation lawsuits.

Youtube