Lawsuit alleges malicious falsehoods, including gender and incest accusations, spread for profit and notoriety

July 25 — French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron have filed a 22-count civil defamation lawsuit against American commentator and podcaster Candace Owens, accusing her of spreading false and malicious claims that Brigitte Macron “is in fact a man” and that the couple are “blood relatives.”

Filed in Delaware Superior Court, the lawsuit alleges that Owens launched a campaign of defamation and misinformation beginning in March 2024 through her eight-part podcast series “Becoming Brigitte” and posts on X (formerly Twitter). The Macrons claim Owens ignored evidence debunking the conspiracy theories and instead promoted the narrative to grow her audience and generate income.

The suit states that Owens further pushed outrageous allegations, including that President Macron was part of a CIA mind-control program and that the couple had committed incest. These claims, the lawsuit says, have caused “tremendous damage” to the Macrons’ personal and public lives.

According to the complaint, Owens ridiculed the Macrons’ attempts to correct the record and instead “used them as additional fodder for her frenzied fan base.” It emphasizes that Brigitte Macron has three biological children from a previous marriage, directly refuting Owens’ claims.

The Macrons are represented by defamation law specialists Clare Locke LLP and are seeking unspecified monetary damages to be determined at trial.