Right-wing podcaster Candace Owens is celebrating a partial legal victory against France’s first couple, although the larger fight is far from over.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Owens wrote that she was “in the absolute best mood over this Macron dismissal.” The announcement came after a Delaware judge removed her personally from the defamation lawsuit brought against her by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron. The New York Times reported the ruling the same day.
“Feels like a year and a half of my family having to deal with psychotic lies regarding pending bankruptcies, secret accounts and plans to flee the country,” Owens wrote, adding that the ordeal was finally over.
Judge Sheldon K. Rennie of Delaware Superior Court concluded that his court has no jurisdiction over Owens, who lives in Tennessee, and he dismissed every claim against her as an individual. Her two companies, Candace Owens LLC and GeorgeTom Inc., are still defendants in the case. According to The Times, the decision makes it “likely that her personal assets would be shielded” if the Macrons eventually prevail.
The Macrons filed suit in July 2025 after Owens falsely claimed that the French first lady is a man. Owens has devoted dozens of episodes of her show to the conspiracy theory, which she started promoting in March 2024.
Rennie also accepted Owens’ argument that French law, rather than American law, should determine the time limit for the Macrons’ claims. French law typically gives plaintiffs three months to sue over allegedly defamatory statements, although that period can extend to a year when the remarks target someone because of characteristics such as sex or sexual orientation.
“We argued the Macron couple was intentionally forum shopping because being held to France’s 3 months would have naturally expired their claims,” Owens wrote.
The judge will let both sides file additional arguments on which deadline applies before he rules on the claims against Owens’ companies. If the three-month rule is adopted, the whole case could be thrown out, because the Macrons did not file within that period.
Owens also insisted the couple “is NOT and has never sued anyone for matters pertaining to sex, sexual orientation, or gender,” claiming the suit is instead aimed at her statements about “MK Ultra and theft.” The Times, however, reported that the lawsuit stemmed from her false claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender.
Clare Locke, the law firm representing the Macrons, welcomed the court’s decision to keep the claims against Owens’ companies alive. The firm said it would examine other ways to hold her personally accountable.
Separately, Owens faces two other defamation suits over her commentary on the killing of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. Both cases, filed in federal courts in Tennessee and Utah, remain pending.