French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, filed a sweeping defamation lawsuit this week against American far-right commentator Candace Owens, marking an extraordinary legal clash between a sitting world leader and a U.S.-based media figure. The lawsuit accuses Owens of leading a relentless, year-long campaign of malicious falsehoods—most infamously, the baseless claim that Brigitte Macron is a man.
Filed in Delaware Superior Court, the complaint outlines 22 counts of defamation and related claims. The suit alleges that Owens took conspiracy theories about the Macrons and weaponzied them against the couple in order to build her platform, sell merchandise, and provoke controversy, all while ignoring repeated legal requests to retract her statements.
According to the 219-page complaint, Owens not only claimed that Brigitte Macron is transgender, but also peddled increasingly bizarre falsehoods: that the Macrons are related by blood and committing incest, that Brigitte stole someone else’s identity, and that the couple is part of a CIA-backed mind control experiment. The Macrons’ legal team, led by Tom Clare—the same attorney behind the successful Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox News—says a source provided Owens with clear evidence disproving the claims but continued to spread them anyway.
Owens responded to news of the lawsuit on social media by taunting the couple, posting on Instagram that she would be “coming for this wig today.” She has continued to push her allegations through podcasts, YouTube videos, and even an eight-part series titled “Becoming Brigitte,” amplifying conspiracy theories while mocking the Macron’s attempts to correct the record.
The French first couple, known for maintaining a relatively private personal life despite years of public fascination with their relationship, says the toll of Owens’s attacks has been personal, not just political. The lawsuit claims that the falsehoods have impacted their ability to move freely in public without being confronted by people who believe the rumors.
The claim from Owens is not the first time Brigitte Macron has faced gender-based conspiracy theories. Earlier this year, a French appeals court overturned a ruling in her favor in a defamation case brought against two individuals who had shared similar claims. That decision, the Macrons argue, emboldened Owens to escalate her efforts.
The case comes at a time of heightened global scrutiny around disinformation, misogyny, and the limits of free speech in the digital age. Owens, a high-profile voice on the American right with more than 5 million followers, has a long history of incendiary rhetoric. Her attacks on the Macrons are just the latest in a pattern of targeting women—especially high-profile ones—with outlandish personal attacks cloaked as political commentary.
The Macrons are seeking unspecified damages, including both compensatory and punitive damages. Their lawyers say that if Owens continues to repeat her claims, the financial penalties could be severe. More importantly, they argue, this case is about protecting not just the dignity of one woman, but the very idea that truth should still matter in public life.
