In an unprecedented turn of events, French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron have filed a defamation lawsuit against YouTuber Candace Owens in Delaware. The defamation case was filed against Owens for claiming that the French First Lady, Brigette Macron, was born a man and became ‘Brigette’ the woman, later.
This is an interesting and rare case where a sitting President and first lady will be suing an online YouTuber for defamation, that too in a foreign court.
What Did Candace Do?
In early 2024, Candace Owens made a statement that she is ready to “stake [her] entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.” Soon after making the statement, Candace released an eight-part podcast series called ‘Becoming Brigitte’ where she discusses how Brigette allegedly became a woman. The podcast series garnered millions of views and was aired between January 31 and mid-February 2025. This triggered the Macrons’ filing a defamation lawsuit against her.
The lawsuit said, “These outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions included that Mrs. Macron was born a man, stole another person’s identity, and transitioned to become Brigitte; Mrs. Macron and President Macron are blood relatives committing incest; President Macron was chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program; and Mrs. Macron and President Macron are committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets.”
“Because Ms Owens systematically reaffirmed these falsehoods in response to each of our attorneys’ repeated requests for a retraction, we ultimately concluded that referring the matter to a court of law was the only remaining avenue,” the Macrons said in a statement.
Macron’s & The Lawsuit
“Ms Owens’ campaign of defamation was designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety. We gave her every opportunity to retract these claims, but she refused. It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.”
The lawsuit pointed out that Owens said in her series that Emmanuel Macron had some connections with an alleged CIA mind control programme, MKUltra, “a secret CIA programme that conducted human experiments to develop mind control techniques using drugs, psychological manipulation, and torture”,
As per the lawsuit, Macron wrote a letter to Candace in December that said, “pointedly denied that the president was statutorily raped” and “President Macron has not participated in, nor is he the product of, any government mind control programmes”
Candace Owen Responds
Just a few hours back, Candace Owens responded with another fiery video where she claimed that Macron’s lawsuit was hilarious and mocked Brigette Macron. She pointed out how the Financial Times reported that “The suit is a rare case of a serving world leader personally suing an online influencer over their content”
Financial Times also said, “The Macrons face a high legal bar, since US defamation laws require public figures to show ‘actual malice’, meaning that the person knew the information was false or had a reckless disregard for the truth. The Macrons are seeking a jury trial and punitive damages.”
But according to Candace Owens, she had requested the Macrons multiple times for an interview on the matter. According to the recent YouTube video, Owens also made public the list of questions she wanted the Macrons to answer. Instead, her requests for a direct interview were met with several legal notices.
Owens also said that US President Donald Trump tried to mediate between her and the Macrons over a phone call. As per Owens, Trump requested her to stop talking about Brigette Macron on behalf of the French President.
Will This Change Anything?
However, Candace Owens’ spokesperson said that Candace was “not shutting up”, adding, “This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist. Candace repeatedly requested an interview with Brigitte Macron. Instead of offering a comment, Brigitte is resorting to trying to bully a reporter into submission. In France, politicians can bully journalists, but this is not France. It’s America.”
Prominent and influential MAGA figures like Tucker Carlson and former Fox News Anchor Clayton Morris also appear to be convinced that Brigette Macron was a man. They also discussed Brigette’s alleged connection with pedophilia in detail.
As per Financial Times, Macrons will come to Delaware Court for a trial. They will be represented by the law firm Clare Locke in this trial. Previously, Brigette Macron also accused two women – Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey in France for defamation. Both the women claimed that French first lady Brigette was born a man with the name Jean-Michael Trogneux. While in September 2023, a Paris court found the women guilty. In July 2025, the Paris Appeals Court overturned Paris Court’s decision saying Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey’s claims were made in good faith and hence do not violate the French Law. Now Brigette Macron has made an appeal in the France’s highest court – Court of Cassation against the decision.
