French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron have filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States against conservative political commentator Candace Owens, accusing her of spreading false and damaging claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender identity.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Delaware, accuses Owens of promoting “outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions” by alleging that France’s first lady was born male.
“Ms. Owens’ campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety,” the Macrons said in a statement issued through their legal team. “We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused.”
The controversy stems from a persistent internet conspiracy theory claiming Brigitte Macron was originally born as “Jean-Michel Trogneux”—her brother’s name. Owens has repeatedly advanced the baseless claim on her podcast and social media, even declaring in March 2024 that she would stake her “entire professional reputation” on the belief that Mrs. Macron “is in fact a man.”
Owens, who boasts over 7 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), further amplified the theory earlier this year by releasing a video series titled Becoming Brigitte, which reiterated the false assertions.
According to The Express, the Macrons’ legal complaint highlights how Owens ignored “all credible evidence disproving her claim in favour of platforming known conspiracy theorists and proven defamers.”
The lawsuit also denounces Owens for spreading other falsehoods, including the suggestion that Emmanuel Macron and his wife are blood relatives, and the claim that the French president’s political rise was orchestrated by a covert CIA operation.
The legal action includes Owens’ Delaware-based business entities and seeks unspecified financial damages. Under U.S. defamation law, as public figures, the Macrons must prove “actual malice”—meaning they must show Owens either knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Their decision to proceed with legal action follows multiple requests for retraction, which Owens allegedly ignored. “Ultimately, referring the matter to a court of law was the only remaining avenue for remedy,” their statement read.
In France, similar defamatory claims have already faced legal scrutiny. In September 2024, two women were convicted of libel for making comparable statements about Brigitte Macron, though the ruling was overturned in July 2025.
Owens, 35, a controversial figure in American political commentary, has previously worked for conservative organizations such as Turning Point USA and The Daily Wire before launching her independent podcast in 2024. She has a documented history of promoting conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 vaccines, moon landings, and even the Holocaust.
She is married to George Farmer, son of British Conservative peer Baron Michael Farmer.