Macron sued a conservative American influencer for claiming that his wife Brigitte is a man
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, along with his wife Brigitte Macron, have taken legal action by filing a defamation lawsuit this Wednesday in the United States against conservative American influencer Candace Owens. The lawsuit responds to Owens’s repeated and unfounded claims that the French first lady is a transgender woman, allegations that have stirred controversy and caused significant reputational harm.
The complaint was formally submitted to a court in Delaware and seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages. Owens, who has built a large following of approximately 5.6 million people on Instagram, publicly asserted that Brigitte Macron was born as Jean-Michel Trogneux—a claim that is completely false. Jean-Michel is actually the name of Brigitte’s brother, making Owens’s statement factually incorrect and defamatory.
To further disseminate her claims, Owens launched a podcast called “Becoming Brigitte” in January 2025, where she discusses and promotes these accusations. The first introductory episode of this podcast has attracted significant attention, accumulating around 4.5 million views. This platform has allowed Owens to amplify her conspiracy theories to a wide audience, fueling misinformation about the French first lady.
The legal complaint, spanning 219 pages, outlines how Owens began promoting the theory that Brigitte Macron stole her brother’s identity and is engaged in incest within her marriage to Emmanuel Macron in 2024. These defamatory assertions have been thoroughly discredited, yet Owens has persisted in spreading them.
In addition to these claims, Owens has also produced merchandise, including t-shirts bearing Brigitte Macron’s face with the provocative slogan “Man of the Year” underneath. Politico reported on this detail, highlighting the extent of Owens’s campaign to publicly humiliate and defame the first lady.
This lawsuit represents a significant effort by the Macrons to defend their dignity and reputation against harmful falsehoods spread on social media and other platforms.
