French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron have launched a bombshell defamation lawsuit against controversial U.S. podcaster Candace Owens. Filed on July 23, 2025, in Delaware Superior Court, the 22-count civil complaint accuses Owens of waging a “vicious global smear campaign” by falsely claiming Brigitte Macron was born male. The Macrons allege Owens spread these outrageous lies to skyrocket her media empire, gain clout, and rake in profits.

The Explosive Allegations

The drama kicked off in March 2024 when Owens, on her then-Daily Wire podcast, boldly declared she’d “bet [her] entire professional reputation” on Brigitte Macron being a man. She doubled down with an eight-part YouTube series, Becoming Brigitte, and flooded her 7-million-strong X following with wild claims. The lawsuit calls out Owens for peddling “absurd and defamatory fiction,” including accusations that Brigitte stole someone else’s identity, transitioned genders, and is in an incestuous relationship with her husband. Owens didn’t stop there—she also claimed the Macrons are neck-deep in forgery, fraud, and power abuses, even alleging Emmanuel Macron was handpicked as president via a CIA-run MKUltra mind-control scheme.

The Macrons’ legal squad, led by heavy-hitters from Clare Locke LLP and Farnan LLP, says Owens’ claims are flat-out false and made with zero regard for the truth. Despite three retraction demands sent between December 2024 and July 1, 2025, Owens refused to back down, instead cashing in on her 4.5-million-subscriber YouTube channel and hawking merchandise like T-shirts mocking Brigitte as “Man of the Year.”

A Rare Legal Showdown

This lawsuit is a head-turner—a sitting world leader taking on a U.S. media figure in American courts. Defamation cases like this are tough for public figures like the Macrons, who must prove “actual malice”—that Owens knowingly spread lies or recklessly ignored the truth. Their legal team, led by Tom Clare (who scored a $787.5 million win for Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News in 2023), says they’ve got the receipts, including documents proving Brigitte Macron was born Brigitte Trogneux, isn’t related to her husband, and has three kids from a prior marriage.

The Disinformation Firestorm

Rumors about Brigitte Macron’s gender have swirled online for years, often tied to the 24-year age gap with her 47-year-old husband. The couple’s unconventional love story—meeting when Emmanuel was a high schooler and Brigitte his drama teacher—has been fodder for critics, though the lawsuit stresses it was always legal. Similar false claims surfaced in France in 2021, when two women, Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey, posted a YouTube video claiming Brigitte was born as her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux. A French court initially fined them €8,000 and €5,000 in damages in September 2024, but a Paris appeals court overturned the ruling on July 10, 2025, calling the claims “good faith” free speech. The Macrons are now appealing to France’s top court, the Court de Cassation.

These French rumors have fueled global conspiracy theories, with X posts in January 2025 labeling it a “scandal” and tying it to U.S.-based conspiracy networks. The Macrons’ lawsuit slams Owens for turning their lives into “clickbait for profit,” causing “massive harm” worldwide.

Owens Fights Back

Owens isn’t backing down. In a July 23, 2025, YouTube video, she called the lawsuit a “desperate PR stunt” and claimed she learned of it through the media. Her spokesperson, Mitchell Jackson, painted the suit as an attack on her First Amendment rights as a journalist. Owens says she offered Brigitte an interview before her podcast aired, a claim the Macrons’ team denies, accusing her of ignoring evidence that debunked her story.

Why It Matters

This legal battle has the world watching. Emmanuel Macron, who in March 2024 called out “false information and fabricated scenarios” as a major threat, is taking a stand. The Élysée Palace called the lawsuit a “private matter” and stayed tight-lipped. Meanwhile, Owens’ conservative fanbase is rallying, with some on X claiming it’s a foreign attempt to muzzle a U.S. voice.

The case echoes disinformation attacks on figures like Michelle Obama and Jacinda Ardern, highlighting the growing challenge of online lies. The Macrons are seeking hefty damages and legal fees, vowing to shut down what they call a “cruel defamation campaign meant to inflict pain.”

More Legal Fights Ahead

Beyond the U.S. case, Brigitte is tackling a cyberbullying complaint in France against four people, including Aurélien Poirson-Atlan (aka “Zoé Sagan”), for harassing remarks about her gender, sexuality, and age gap with Macron. That case hits a Paris court in October 2025. The French appeals court’s recent free-speech ruling has sparked heated debate about balancing defamation and expression, making the Macrons’ fight even tougher.

As this transatlantic legal clash unfolds, it’s set to test U.S. defamation law and the power of social media to spread lies about global figures. The outcome could reshape how public figures combat online disinformation in a hyper-connected world.