Macrons sue ex-Maga influencer who called Brigitte a man
The French president and his wife are willing to travel to the US for the case, should it go ahead, to end what their lawyer described as a 'relentless and unjustified smear campaign'.
The 218-page lawsuit, filed in Delaware on Wednesday, accuses Ms Owens of publishing 'outlandish, defamatory and far-fetched fictions', chief among them the conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux.
In March last year, Ms Owens insisted in a post on X: 'After looking into this, I would stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man. Any journalist or publication that is trying to dismiss this plausibility is immediately identifiable as establishment.
'I have never seen anything like this in my life. The implications here are terrifying. I do not intend to let up on this story and I am calling on other journalists to look into this explosive story and report accordingly.'
It is rare for a serving world leader to personally sue an online influencer over their content.
In a statement, the Macrons said: '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.'
Ms Owens, 36, who has millions of followers on Instagram and YouTube, and made her name as a conservative activist, will address the lawsuit on her show on Wednesday.
She is married to George Farmer, the former boss of Parler, a social media platform. Once a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, Ms Owens has since broken with the US president and said she was 'embarrassed' she once campaigned for him.
The lawsuit claims that the Macrons have 'suffered substantial reputational damage' and have spent 'considerable sums of money to correct the public record'.
The case centres on Becoming Brigitte, an eight-part podcast series Ms Owens released this year, and social media posts linked to it. It has received more than 2.3 million views on YouTube.
'Grotesque narrative'
In their filing, the Macrons claim Ms Owens has 'used [a] false statement' about Mrs Macron's gender 'to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety and make money'.
They say she 'ignored multiple attempts by the Macrons to engage'. Ms Owens said that she reached out to Mrs Macron for an interview.
Ms Owens had created 'a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade'.
'The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale.' She has 'built a brand on provocation, not truth', the complaint alleges.
Mrs Macron has been the subject of several conspiracy theory-driven 'transvestigations', where social media conspiracists baselessly allege she is a trans woman.
They first erupted in France in 2021, but later spread to the US and was fanned by high-profile Maga figures including Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.
After initially ignoring the 'toxic' rumours, in 2022 Mrs Macron filed a defamation lawsuit in France against a blogger and self-proclaimed clairvoyant who relayed the claims.
She initially won the case, but it was overturned on appeal and she is now challenging that decision.
Last year, Mr Macron reacted publicly for the first time, saying: 'The worst thing is false information and fabricated scenarios, with people who end up believing them — including in the most private aspects of your life.'
The Macrons' court filing also denies Ms Owens' claims that Mr Macron was 'statutorily raped' after they met when the president was a 15-year-old student and Brigitte a 39-year-old married teacher and mother of three.
Their relationship had always remained 'within the bounds of the law', the couple insisted.
Ms Owens also mentioned in her series the idea that the French president was connected to MKUltra, a 'secret CIA programme that conducted human experiments to develop mind-control techniques using drugs, psychological manipulation and torture', and that Mr and Mrs Macron are blood relatives, according to the document.
It says: 'President Macron has not participated in, nor is he the product of, any government mind-control programmes.'
In a statement, a spokesman for Ms Owens said: 'Candace Owens is not shutting up. 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. Candace will address everything on her show today, where she will continue to express her First Amendment rights.'
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